Us or Them
by Leeloo Jinn
Summary: Sequel to A Thousand ReasonsEvie is appointed coGM in Austin’s absence, causing tension between her, Hunter, and others. Enter an ‘advisor’ that can help things run more smoothly.
1. Prologue

* * *

**Us or Them**

**Sequel to _A Thousand Reasons_**

**Rating:** **R** for violence, language and sexual situations

**Characters:** Evie Mackenzie (O/C), Triple H, Evolution, Eric Bischoff and others.

**Summary:** Evie is appointed co-GM in Austin's absence, causing tension between her, Hunter, Evolution, Eric Bischoff and the RAW roster. Enter an 'advisor' that can help things run more smoothly, much to Bischoff's irritation and Hunter's concern.

**A/N:** I am taking some liberties with the storyline from November 2003 to present day. In keeping with the plot of this particular piece, I am altering Austin's return to take place later than it originally did. I will try to keep everything else as close to canon as possible.

* * *

**Prologue**

Stone Cold Steve Austin stood in the middle of the ring at Royal Rumble. With a look of sadness on his face, he informed the crowd that he would be leaving the WWE. Team Bischoff had won the match, but they hadn't broken him. He thanked the crowd for their support and their loyalty to him over the years. Jonathan Coachman comes down with a cadre of security men to "escort" Austin out of the building. Austin proceeded to make short work of the security guards and then delivered a Stone Cold Stunner to Coach. He then topped it off by flipping the bird at Coach while he was laid out. Having had his say, Austin motioned for his beer to be tossed to him. With a beer in each hand, he raised them high and toasted the crowd.

Two weeks later, Mick Foley stood in the ring at RAW and made the announcement that he would be filling in as co-GM, much to Bischoff's irritation. Throughout the night, he proceeded to overturn almost every match Bischoff made, treating those loyal to Bischoff with disrespect, while favoring the ones who got no respect from Bischoff in general. This did not go over too well with Bischoff, nor did it go over very well with a certain member of Evolution.

Within the next two weeks, Randy Orton had completely disrespected and belittled Mick Foley's entire career and spit in his face. Foley finally lost it and challenged Orton to a match. Orton readily accepted, but the match was not to be. Somewhere along the way, Foley had a change of heart and walked out on the match. He was not seen for several days, and when he did return, he dropped a bomb on both Orton and Bischoff…


	2. Catching Up

**Chapter 1**

Hunter walked in the door to Evolution's locker room and found Evie on the phone with someone. He set his bag down on the floor and checked the room over while waiting for her to finish her call. He half- listened to her side of the conversation, wondering who she was talking to.

"So when do we need to be there?" Evie asked the person on the other end.

Hunter's ears perked up at that question. He looked over at her. "Who are you talking to?" he mouthed.

Evie shook her head at him, indicating that she didn't want to be disturbed. "Well, it's pretty much a last minute kind of thing isn't it? I mean, how long have we known each other and you just ask me now?" She paused as she listened to the person. "Fine, we'll be there, you pain in the ass," she replied. "And don't expect me to do any work while I'm there; absolutely no schmoozing. I'll call you when I get home," she said and then disconnected the call.

Hunter spoke up again. "What's going on?"

"Philip wants us to come for some party he's throwing," Evie replied. "It's supposed to be a huge black tie, A-lister."

"A huge party, huh?" Hunter asked as he sat down on the sofa. "Actually, I could do with a little pointless partying."

Evie shrugged. "Well, with Philip, everything has to be huge or it's not worth it," she responded as she clipped her phone back on her belt.

Hunter laughed at her remark. "You know, that could be interpreted wrong," he stated.

She chuckled. "Yeah I know, but it is true. He likes everything huge, including his men," she said as she looked at him pointedly.

"Oh by the way, there's no ice bucket or water in here," Hunter said, ignoring her last remark as he gestured to the table alongside the sofa. "Do you think you could take care of that?"

An eyebrow shot up. She knew he was avoiding that last comment, but she couldn't blame him. Philip did have a taste for large men, either muscular or well-endowed. Philip had jokingly asked Evie if Hunter fit both bills. She had told him to behave or she'd put him in a headlock. Philip replied that didn't stop him from looking. Evie knew he was only teasing her. He was more of a brother to her than a friend. Of course, that didn't make Hunter feel completely comfortable around him either.

"Are your arms broken?" Evie questioned nonchalantly with a hint of a smile.

He made a show of examining his hands and arms. "Not yet." He glanced up at her, his eyes twinkling.

She laughed softly. "And what do I get if I take care of it?"

A sly smile slid across his mouth. "You take care of that and I'll take care of you later," he said meaningfully while he wiggled his eyebrows.

"Oh good grief," she choked out between laughter. "You're terrible," she replied as she headed for the door.

"That's not what you said last night," Hunter quipped.

Evie paused in the open doorway. "That was last night," she stated and then disappeared into the hall to take care of Hunter's request.

He watched her go, the smile still on his face. Since she had come back, things had been better for him; at least, on the personal front anyway. They still had their disagreements, but on the whole, things had been working out very well for the past few months. Ever since he had told her exactly how he felt about her, it seemed like their relationship had stepped to the next level. They were more open and honest with each other. So much so on Hunter's part, that he made it known to the other three members of Evolution that Evie was off-limits. She belonged to him.

Ric hadn't looked too thrilled at that announcement. He had approached Hunter with the "concerns" of how this was going to affect Hunter's goal of regaining the title he had lost to Goldberg recently. Hunter explained to him that business was business and he wouldn't let personal things interfere. Ric questioned if Evie understood what that meant. Hunter affirmed that she did, as they had talked about it extensively.

Batista had given Hunter a silent nod of approval and Randy had simply shrugged at the declaration. The youngest member of Evolution didn't give a damn who the World Heavyweight Champion was sleeping with, so long as it didn't affect his place in the faction.

Of course, there was still the occasional problem with the general manager, Eric Bischoff, but all Evie had to do was look at him a certain way, or mention a particular chair shot, and Bischoff would shut up right away. Bischoff remembered that crazed look in the eyes of Triple H's personal assistant. He had no desire to be on the receiving end of another attack. But he still did his best to piss Evie off in the most subtle ways.

Chris Jericho had practically stopped bothering Evie. He had become enamored with Trish Stratus. For the life of him, Hunter couldn't quite figure out why, but at this point, it was more of a blessing than anything else; especially for Evie.

And Shawn Michaels… well, some things were better left unsaid. He hadn't spoken to Evie at all since she had returned; not that Hunter minded. The less interaction Evie had with Shawn, the better. Hunter felt more comfortable dealing with Shawn directly, rather than having Evie in the middle again.

As for Evie herself, she was much more at ease in her role as personal assistant as well as the business end of wrestling. She seemed to be more accepting of the way things were handled. Hunter assumed it was a result of her last match with Jericho. After being on the wrestling end, she didn't question his motives as much as she used to. Recently, she had come up with a couple ideas on how to deal with Goldberg. Hunter implemented one or two of those ideas and they came off without a hitch and with satisfying results.

Hunter wondered if that change in her was going to stay. He kind of liked that little devious side of her personality. And it wasn't only confined to work. It would show up in the bedroom every now and then as well. Another satisfied smirk crossed his face at that thought. Yeah, things had been good lately. Except for his title loss to Goldberg, but that would change soon. No doubt about that.

* * *

Evie had procured the required bucket of ice and bottled water for Hunter and was on her way back to the locker room when an assistant stopped her.

"Miss Mackenzie?" the young man asked her.

"Yes Scott?" she replied politely, noting with some interest what he was carrying.

He shyly smiled at her. "These came for Triple H. Would it be okay if I gave them to you to give to him?" He looked a little embarrassed. "I'd deliver them myself, but frankly, those guys scare the crap out of me."

Evie smiled in response. "Sure, I'm heading back that way anyhow." She held out her hand for the bouquet of roses.

"Um, they're a bit heavy, especially in this vase," Scott told her. "Are you sure you can take them?"

"I'm pretty sure Scott, thanks," Evie stated as she hefted the vase into the crook of her arm. "The bucket has a handle on it, so I think I can manage."

Scott gave her another grin and shuffled off in the other direction. Evie continued the trek back to Evolution's locker room. As she rounded a corner, she almost ran into someone.

"Sorry," she muttered as she shifted the flowers so she could see who she was apologizing to.

"No need to apologize, Red. It was an accident," said Chris Jericho as he flicked his hair over his shoulder. He looked her over. "You're looking good. Have you been working out?"

Evie eyed him apprehensively. She wasn't quite sure about Jericho's new attitude towards her. Especially since the last time they had interacted, she'd laid him out with a steel chair. His remarks towards her had become tamer as well. Upon her return, Evie had noticed that he barely paid her any attention. At first she thought it was because of their match, but that didn't seem like Jericho. When she found out the real reason, it made more sense. Jericho had an interest in Trish Stratus. And from Trish's reactions, it seemed that she had a similar interest in Jericho.

Almost as if he could read her mind regarding tame remarks, Jericho smirked. "Of course you've been working out, you're still Hunter's assistant aren't you?" he asked with a hint of suggestion.

Evie opened her mouth to retort, but fell silent as Trish came up behind Jericho.

"There you are," Trish said to him. "I was looking for you." Her gaze turned on Evie. "Sorry, am I interrupting something?"

"Not really," Evie replied shortly.

The smirk vanished instantly from Jericho's face. "Evie almost ran into me," he explained to Trish.

Trish looked from Evie to Jericho and back. "Oh, well in that case, you don't mind if I talk to him for a minute, do you?" she asked Evie.

Evie smiled. "No, you go right ahead." She swept off in the direction she had been going.

On her way back, she passed by Lance Storm and Val Venis trying to work their magic on two Utah girls. She was almost flattened by a little person running past, followed by Hurricane, who was holding a gigantic butterfly net, and Rosey. Rosey almost knocked her over, hurriedly apologized and then ran off in the same direction as Hurricane. Evie sighed exasperatedly and continued on.

_Nice to know some things don't change_, she thought sarcastically. _Or rather, that Bischoff's matches don't change._

Other than that, things had been enjoyable since she had returned. The expression on Eric Bischoff's face had been priceless. He had spluttered and coughed upon seeing her and then demanded to know what she was doing back in the WWE. Hunter explained things to him in the manner one would talk to a child that has difficulty understanding directions. Bischoff had grimaced at the mention of the "no wrestling" clause in Evie's contract, but said nothing. Hunter told Bischoff that if he so much as laid a hand on Evie, he would make his life a living hell. So far, Bischoff had resorted to taunts and insults whenever he saw Evie, but she could deal with that.

Shawn Michaels completely avoided her now. That didn't mean much, other than the fact that he left her alone. He didn't try any of his old tricks, but that didn't mean he didn't have new ones up his sleeve. She'd cross that bridge when it came up though. Right now, she was glad that he didn't bother her at all.

And then there was Hunter. A smile flitted across her mouth as she thought about him. Ever since he had showed up at her house back in June to apologize for letting her go, things had changed between the two of them. Mostly on Hunter's part. He had become more open in their relationship. He actually told her things rather than hiding them. So much so, that he had told the other three members of Evolution that they were involved. This was more for Ric's benefit than anything else. Batista had already known, and Randy looked as if he didn't give a damn. Not that she cared what he or Ric thought anyway.

The smile grew. Frankly, _she_ didn't give a damn what _anyone_ thought about her and Hunter. If people didn't like it, they could go screw themselves.

Of course, there were some changes in her also. She realized that she actually enjoyed her working environment. In the time she had been away, she hadn't known what to do with herself. The constant travel did take a bit of a toll on her, but she become conscious of the fact that life was dull without it. It made her appreciate not just the job, but the excitement of the show, and the fact that anything could, and usually did, happen.

Not only that, but she had a better appreciation for Hunter's job since she had been in the ring with Jericho, and didn't give Hunter a hard time about his tactics in and outside the ring. As a result, she had become more involved in bouncing ideas around with Hunter. He had mentioned the problems he had with Goldberg and she had come up with a couple suggestions that Hunter had used. She rather enjoyed that aspect of things.

She also enjoyed other things about Hunter, but those would have to wait until later. She continued on her way back to Evolution's locker room.

* * *

Hunter turned his attention to the monitor where general manager Eric Bischoff was spinning the roulette wheel to determine what kind of match Randy Orton would be having tonight. It stopped on a Legend Killer match, which made Randy's smarmy grin even bigger.

Hunter was facing Goldberg later for the title. He heaved himself off the sofa to go change into his wrestling gear. As he pulled his trunks on, he heard the locker room door open and close. He stuck his head out to see who it was, and saw Randy.

"Hey Hunter," Randy said as he pulled open his own bag to get his gear out.

"You didn't see Evie on your way back, did you?" Hunter responded.

Randy shook his head as Hunter came out with his boots and pads in hand. Randy disappeared into the shower area to change as his match was up in less than five minutes.

No sooner had Hunter sat down to wrap his knees, than the door opened again. Evie came in with the requested bucket of ice and water in one hand and a dozen roses in the other.

"Who're those from?" Hunter asked.

She set the bucket down and turned to Hunter. "I have no idea. One of the assistants handed them to me and said they were delivered for you."

"Is there a card?" he questioned as he finished one knee and started on the other.

Evie's fingers gently pushed through the blossoms and encountered a small envelope. She pulled it out and, after setting the flowers down on a side table, she opened it. "It says, _Hope you enjoy the smell of roses because you aren't going to be smelling success in a title match any time soon_." She checked for a signature but there was none; not that it mattered. She glanced at Hunter. "Guess who."

Hunter shook his head. "I always knew there was something funny about Goldberg." He finished wrapping the second knee and began to pull on the braces. "First its flowers, and then its dinner and then they want you to move in with them. I keep telling him I don't bat for the other team."

A grin spread across Evie's mouth. "Yeah, but he can dream, can't he?" She waved the card at Hunter and then gestured to the flowers. "What do you want me to do with these?"

He shrugged. "Give 'em to Randy. Tell him they're from an admirer," he said in a low voice.

Evie pocketed the card. "You _are_ terrible," she whispered.

Hunter grinned up at her. "So you keep telling me, but I don't hear you complaining." He held the tape out to her. "Tape me up, will you?"

She sat down next to him and took the tape. "I should tape your damn mouth shut," she teased.

Hunter leered at her. "Maybe later. Right now I've got a title to win back."

As Evie started wrapping Hunter's left wrist, Randy came out of the shower area in his ring attire. He grunted a hello to Evie and then his eyes fell on the roses.

"Where'd those come from?" he asked Hunter.

"Ah, Evie brought those in. She said they were delivered for you. Must be from an admirer, but there wasn't a card," Hunter said, trying to keep a straight face.

Randy nodded his head. "Not surprising. I mean, we are talking about the Legend Killer, here. Women can't help themselves." He smirked at Hunter and then left for his match.

Hunter snickered as the door closed behind Randy. Evie just shook her head. She didn't care much for Randy. He was too arrogant, not only towards his opponents, but towards her as well. It seemed that with every match he had won in her absence, his ego had gotten bigger. Now he was the self-proclaimed Legend Killer.

_Probably overcompensating for something that's not quite up to size_, Evie thought with a little smile.

"He's not a bad kid, but sometimes it's just too fun to pass up an opportunity," Hunter said as Evie began wrapping his right hand and wrist.

Evie said nothing. She didn't want to get onto the subject of Randy Orton. She finished taping up Hunter and he sat back to watch Randy's match.

Randy made short work of his "special guest legend", who turned out to be Sergeant Slaughter and RKO'ed him for the win. Randy was in the middle of working the Sergeant over when RVD ran down to the ring and began beating on Randy. HE laid Randy out for A Five Star Frog splash, but Randy rolled out of the ring just in time to avoid it. Sergeant Slaughter thanked RVD by teasing him with a Cobra Clutch and RVD played along.

Hunter rolled his eyes at the whole scene, but his attention was turned back to the screen as a replay of Evolution versus Goldberg over the last two weeks was replayed, explaining the match between Hunter and Goldberg tonight.

"After tonight, I'll be wearing that title again," he said to himself.

Evie waited until the clip had finished and then she glanced over at Hunter. "Oh, by the way, Lauren blames you for Jacob's latest escapade at school."

He looked at her with some interest. "Is that so?"  
"Yeah," Evie replied as she smiled. "She said that if you don't quit teaching him wrestling moves, she's going to make sure you never have kids of your own."

Hunter chuckled. "Well, if he wasn't so enthusiastic about it…" he trailed off. "So, what's the latest?"

Evie shifted so that she was facing him. "He gave one of the kids on the playground an arm wrench the other day. Turns out the other kid was bullying him and-"

"Well, there you go. Your sister should be glad he can defend himself," he interrupted.

"Just watch yourself, will you? She's having a go at me too," Evie said. She grinned. "Not only are you a bad influence on me, but now you're becoming a bad influence on my nephew."

Hunter only grinned in response. Evie was about to say something else when the door banged open and Ric walked in.

"All set champ?" he asked as he spied Evie and Hunter on the sofa.

Hunter stood up. "You bet I am. Goldberg is gonna wish he'd taken the night off."

"Well, we're up next, so let's get going," Ric replied. He nodded at Evie and he and Hunter left, shutting the door behind them.

Ever since Hunter had made it public knowledge among the rest of Evolution that he and Evie were involved, Ric's demeanor towards her had been impersonal. He would talk to her about things work related, but other than that, he didn't go out of his way to try and be "friendly" with her anymore. Evie supposed it might be in part with her rebuffing him abruptly when he had snuck into her hotel room last year while she had been sleeping. Well, maybe rebuffing wasn't the right word; more like physically discouraging him. The other part being that he wasn't happy that Hunter was getting involved and possibly losing focus on more important things. Evie knew that was part of the reason because Hunter had told her. They had talked about all that when they got back together.

She heard Lillian announcing Hunter on the monitor and turned her attention to watch the match. She was glad she wasn't out there. The pyrotechnics for Goldberg's entrance created too much smoke. After it cleared a bit, Hunter's music hit and he walked down to the ring with Ric.

Hunter and Goldberg began trash talking one another and then stared one another down until Ric distracted Goldberg long enough for Hunter to hit first. He pummeled Goldberg and as he went for an Irish whip, Goldberg reversed it and hit a back body drop on Hunter. Both men ended up outside the ring where Hunter gained the advantage again. They went back into the ring and then out again and Hunter threw Goldberg into the steel steps.

He threw Goldberg back into the ring and climbed in after him. Hunter hit him with a couple high knees and then began choking Goldberg on the ropes. The ref reprimanded him and while his back was turned, Ric picked up where Hunter had left off, by continuing to choke the champion. Once Ric was satisfied that Goldberg had had enough, he let go, watching Hunter climb up to the top rope. Hunter leapt and Goldberg moved out of the way in time to avoid him. Goldberg quickly delivered a sidewalk slam to Hunter and then set him up for a spear. But he never made contact with Hunter. Hunter had rolled out of the ring at the last second.

Goldberg stalked his opponent around the ring and then back into it. Hunter hit a face buster out of nowhere, went up to the second rope and as he jumped off it, received a boot to the face. Goldberg then gave Hunter a military press and that carried over into a power slam. As Goldberg readied for another spear, Ric grabbed his ankles. Goldberg quickly gave Ric a boot to the face and turned his attention back to Hunter as Randy Orton ran down and attempted an RKO. Instead, Goldberg speared him as the ref called for the bell.

Hunter got to his feet and gave Goldberg a low blow, followed by a pedigree. He trash talked Goldberg as he lay on the canvas, but was interrupted by Kane appearing at the top of the ramp. While Hunter was distracted by Kane, Goldberg managed to get to his feet and spear Hunter. That didn't stop Kane however, and he ran down to the ring and cleaned house. He destroyed Goldberg as the bell rang over and over.

Hunter retreated backstage and stormed into Bischoff's office to complain. Wasting no time, he got right in Bischoff's face. "What the hell was that!" he demanded.

Bischoff tried to calm Hunter down. "Now Triple H, you know I have no control over-"

Hunter cut him off. "You know that Evolution is the reason why you have a job, Eric. I want a shot at the World…" Hunter trailed off as he felt someone pressed up against his back. He turned around to see Kane right behind him.

"Eric," Kane rumbled, "I want _my_ shot at the World title. I deserve that shot."

Bischoff mumbled something about a match between Hunter and Kane but both men protested vehemently. It was one of them or nothing at all.

"What I'm saying, gentlemen, is that at Armageddon, it will be Triple H versus Kane versus Goldberg for the World Heavyweight title," Bischoff finally managed to say.

Both men fell quiet for a few seconds and then Kane spoke up. "How do you feel about that, Triple H?"

Hunter turned around so he was face to face with Kane. "I feel fine with that. In fact, I fell that I'll be walking out of that ring at Armageddon with the title." He pushed past Kane and headed towards Evolution's locker room.

Inside he was livid. He alone deserved that title shot. He didn't want Kane involved in any way whatsoever. "Dammit," he muttered as he approached the locker room door.

Hunter threw the door open, causing it to slam against the wall. He said nothing as he strode in, gathered up his clothes and walked into the shower area. Evie said nothing as she watched him. Ric followed Hunter into the shower area to talk to him. She could hear the low murmur of voices and then Hunter started yelling about Kane's interference and the 3-way match for the title at Armageddon.

Evie sighed in response as she got up and started packing her computer into its carry bag. It sounded like it was going to be a night of angry silence for Hunter. As she zipped the bag up, she noticed that their voices had dropped again and after a couple more minutes, Ric emerged.

He looked at Evie. "He'll be fine. He's just a little pissed off with Bischoff right now."

Evie shrugged. "Who doesn't get pissed off by Bischoff?" she asked wryly.

Ric chuckled. "He'll be out in a few minutes." He glanced around. "You seen Batista anywhere?"

"No, I haven't seen him since we got here." She glanced at Ric. "You two have a tag team match tonight, don't you?"

Ric nodded. "I suppose I should get changed and go look for him," he replied. Just then, Batista strode in. He smiled as Ric noticed him. "Where the hell have you been, big man?" Ric asked.

Batista gave Ric a conspiring look. "I've been hooking us up for the night, Ric. I found three ladies who all have friends and they'll be meeting up with us tonight."

Ric laughed as he clapped Batista on the back. "Nice job. I can't wait to meet 'em."

Hunter came out with his gear in hand and a murderous expression on his face. He noticed Batista in the room. "Don't you two have a tag match tonight?" he asked curtly.

Batista said nothing, simply nodded at Hunter, and winked at Evie. Ric shook his head and they both disappeared to change.

Hunter stuffed his things into his own bag and then sat down on the sofa with a huff. Wisely, Evie said nothing. Usually it was best to let him alone and let his mood disappear on its own. She kept her attention on the monitor, where Miss Jackie and Trish were in the process of ripping their clothes off each other in a bra and panties match. Evie rolled her eyes at their antics. Bischoff _would_ put two women in a match just to get them to take off their clothes, which made her doubly glad she had a "no wrestling" clause in her contract.

Batista and Ric came out, dressed for their match. Hunter nodded at them as they walked past and out the door. He was still incensed that Kane was a part of the title match against Goldberg at Armageddon. His foul mood continued through Batista and Ric's match and didn't improve when they lost to HBK and Jericho. Batista, outraged at having been beat, gave HBK a power bomb and then posed and screamed at the camera as the show faded to black.

Hunter abruptly stood up and began pacing the room, his mind working furiously on the issue of Kane. Evie watched him warily. She still didn't say a word. That could wait until they got back to the hotel. Hopefully by then, he'd calm down a bit. The other three members of Evolution entered and quickly changed into their street clothes.

Ric let Hunter know that they would be going as far as the hotel with him and Evie but after that they were meeting up with female company back here.

"Makes more sense for us to take the limo and then send it back here for you guys," Hunter grumbled.

They agreed on that and Evie and Hunter headed out to the parking lot. Once they were on their way to the hotel, Hunter leaned his head back and let his eyes close. He didn't want to think anymore and he certainly didn't want to talk. He just wanted to be left alone for a few minutes to clear his head.

He was disturbed only when Evie briefly touched his leg to let him know they'd arrived at the hotel. As soon as they had entered their room, Hunter walked into the bathroom and closed the door. Evie set her things down and within minutes, heard the water running for the shower.

After she had changed into her nightshirt, she plopped down on the bed and took up the remote for the television. Hunter took his time in the bathroom and Evie became tired of waiting. She turned off the TV and the light on her side of the bed and slid under the blankets. She hoped Hunter's mood would improve by tomorrow, as they were flying out to Chicago to spend Thanksgiving with her family.

It would be nice to see them again. Despite the fact that she enjoyed her job, she did miss her family. Hunter had been extremely accommodating in visiting them frequently. He knew how close they all were. When Evie had asked him if it bothered him, he had told her no, and that he liked her family. She could understand that. His own family wasn't too supportive about his lifestyle or his career. He had described them as stiff and standoffish. Evie tended to think of them as stuck-up and snotty. She had met them not too long ago, and they had made it abundantly clear that they didn't approve of Hunter's choice. His mother went so far as to even say that in front of Evie. Hunter had apologized to her for their reactions. Evie had been offended, but brushed it off, telling Hunter that it didn't matter to her if they approved or not. It wasn't them she was in love with. They hadn't been back to see his family since then, which was fine by her.

While she was thinking about family, the bathroom door opened and Hunter came out. He tossed his clothes onto his suitcase and climbed into bed next to Evie. He said nothing; instead he reached out and pulled her to him. He nestled his face into the crook of her neck and sighed.

That could only mean that he had settled down. One hand came up and stroked his hair. "Hunter?" she asked quietly.

"Mmm," was his reply as he nuzzled her neck.

"Are you done?" she asked as her fingers gently entwined themselves in his hair.

He sighed heavily. "Yeah, I guess so." His anger had abated for now. He'd save it for work. Besides, their holiday started tomorrow and he'd rather enjoy it than be pissed off. No sense in getting everyone else upset.

Evie's voice broke into his thoughts. "Is there anything I can do to make it better?" she asked with a hint of suggestion.

Hunter smiled against her skin. He knew she was trying to get his mind off things, but it had been a long day and he was tired. "Not tonight. I'm worn out enough as it is."

She dropped a brief kiss on his forehead. "All right then. I guess I'll let you go to sleep."

He nuzzled her neck in response as his eyes closed. "I love you," he whispered.

"I know," she said in response. "Go to sleep."

* * *

"Another Thanksgiving," Evie sighed as they pulled up in front of her parents' home.

"You make it sound like a bad thing," Hunter stated. "I like your family."

Evie smiled grimly as she turned the engine off. "Oh, my immediate family is fine. It's the aunts and uncles and cousins you have to watch out for." She pocketed the keys and looked at Hunter. "They like to drag everyone into the old family arguments, especially my Aunt Celia and Beth."

Hunter grinned. "I'll watch my step," he said as he and Evie got out of the car.

Before they could even reach the front door, it was flung open and two boys ran out. Evie laughed as Jacob and Colin descended on them, hugging Evie around the waist and shaking hands with Hunter.

They tugged on their hands, pulling them towards the house and into the family commotion. Evie's mother and father were the first to greet them. They both hugged Evie and Hunter shook hands with David and received a hug from Lillian. Evie's sister noticed them and let out a whoop of excitement.

Lauren plowed through the press of relatives and hugged her sister and then Hunter. After that, the rest of the family plagued them, greeting Hunter and talking to Evie. When the commotion had subsided, Evie escaped into the kitchen to get a drink, leaving Hunter with Jacob and Colin. They were taking him to each cousin and introducing him. Evie grinned at that. She supposed it had more to do with showing off Hunter than anything else. As she poured herself a Guinness, Lauren appeared next to her.

"So Hunter decided to brave the family this year?" she asked Evie as she smiled.

"Yeah. I tried to talk him out of it, but he was determined to come," Evie replied as she tossed the can into the recycling bin.

"He'll be fine, so I wouldn't worry too much. I don't think Jacob and Colin will let him out of sight for more than two seconds," Lauren said with some amusement. "And speaking of my sons, have you told your man to quit showing them moves and holds?"

Evie grinned. "Yeah, but somehow I don't think that's going to keep him from doing it. I told him about Jacob's altercation and you know what he said?" When Lauren shook her head, Evie continued. "He said that you should be glad he can defend himself."

Lauren rolled her eyes. "That's what Gavin said too; typical guy response." She reached over and took a swig of Evie's ale. She made a face and gave it back to Evie. "I still don't understand how you can drink that stuff. You must get it from mom's side of the family."

"Speaking of which, are Tom and Dana at her family's this year?" Evie questioned. She hadn't seen her brother when she had come in.

Lauren nodded. "Yeah, they went to her parents' house this year. Tom said they complained about not seeing their granddaughter very often."

"Well, seeing as they live in Oregon, I'm not surprised. So, anything happen before we got here?" Evie asked her sister.

Lauren laughed and started telling Evie about Aunt Celia trying to take over the kitchen. Their mother was having none of it and promptly threw Celia out. "You should have seen mom's face. I swear that Irish temper is going to assert itself one of these days; especially around Celia."

They moved back into the family room and after looking for Hunter, who was talking to Gavin, Evie made the rounds to talk to the family members she actually liked. She checked on Hunter to make sure he was surviving; occasionally introducing him to yet another family member. Eventually dinner was served with a minimal of fuss and everyone was soon busy gorging themselves on turkey and all the trimmings. Of course, Evie's two nephews insisted that they sit next to Hunter. The conversation ranged from family news and goings-on to questions about Hunter's job and all the traveling that he and Evie do, to Thanksgivings past.

Dessert made the rounds and then the men took themselves off to the family room to watch football. Hunter went along with them. The kids trooped into the basement to play games or watch a movie on the television down there.

The women moved back and forth between the dining room and the kitchen with plates and cutlery, helping Lillian clean up. After Evie made sure her mother didn't need any more help, she grabbed her coat and escaped to the deck that wrapped around the back of the house. She took a deep breath of cold air and blew it out. At last, some silence. She loved her family, but gatherings like this were overwhelming sometimes; mainly when the extended family was involved.

Leaning against the railing, she looked out over the yard. It had been changed from the wide-open space she knew as a child, to a landscaped one. A stone path wound around shrubs and trees, beds of flowers that would burst with color in the spring, and down to the tree house at the back of the yard. It was relatively quiet for a holiday. Away from the chatter of family in the house, she could hear only the birds chirping occasionally in the trees and the distant bark of a dog.

The sound of the sliding glass door caught her attention and she looked to see who was invading her solitude. It was Hunter. A half-smile crept over her face. He had held up admirably under the zillion questions that most of her extended family had asked. Evie had overheard her Aunt Beth ask a question about marriage and grinned as Hunter completely avoided the question.

She waited for him to see her standing at the far end of the deck. He smiled when he did see her. She watched him walk towards her, admiring the way he moved. He also had his coat on over his grey shirt and black pants; his hair pulled back into his customary pony-tail.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked.

"Too many people inside and my face hurts from smiling and talking." She sighed. "I know they mean well, but..."

He nodded his head. "I understand."

A mischievous grin suddenly appeared. "So how many of my family have us married?"

"I lost count, but your second cousin Erin, asked me to marry her." There was a twinkle in his eyes.

Evie chuckled. "She's only ten Hunter. Are you willing to wait at least eight more years?"

He smirked. "Well, by that time I should be ready to get married again."

She laughed. "I don't think she'll wait that long though."

"Probably not. Probably find herself some young guy. Forget about old Hunter." He looked at her. "How are you holding up?" He knew she didn't mind her immediate family, but when everyone else was thrown into the mix, it became a bit much for her.

"I'm all right. It's just a bit overwhelming having all those people around. I needed some fresh air and a little peace and quiet."

"You want me to leave?" he asked her.

"You really want to go back in there?" she countered.

Now it was his turn to laugh. "Well when you put it like that... no."

"Well then you can stay out here with me." She glanced back at the sliding door. "At least until we're discovered." She leaned back against the railing, her gloved hands resting on the top.

Hunter looked her over. She had on a pair of dark red boot cut pants and a black button down shirt under the leather jacket. Her hair fell softly about her shoulders, stirring slightly in the cold breeze. He smiled as thoughts of taking her back to her place, taking off her clothes and performing a few unspeakable acts, paraded through his mind.

She noticed he was checking her out with a grin. "What? Did I spill something on myself?"

Hunter shook his head. "Just thinking about how much I'd like to get you out of those clothes," he stated as he leered at her

Evie laughed as he moved even closer to her and wrapped his arms around her. He lowered his mouth to her ear and whispered what he had been thinking a few seconds earlier.

She pulled her head back to look at him an expression of mock astonishment on her face. "Why Mr. Helmsley! I don't do those things!"

"You liar," he whispered just before he kissed her.

The sliding door opened and out popped a little head covered with a mop of brown hair. It was Colin. When he spied them, his head disappeared back inside and they heard him yell, "They're out here Mom! And they're making out!"

The kiss dissolved into laughter from both of them.

"So much for peace and quiet," Evie observed.

Lauren appeared at the door. "Evie, Hunter, people are starting to leave. You better come in and say goodbye." She grinned mischievously. "And stop making out!"

Evie stuck her tongue out at her sister and then glanced at Hunter. "Ready?"

He smiled. "Always ready."

They walked back into the house.

* * *

"Remind me why I let you talk me into this?" Hunter murmured as they approached the doors into the Gold Coast Room of the Drake Hotel.

"Because you love me," Evie whispered in return.

The strains of _Opus One_ drifted through the doors with the low hum of voices and the tinkle of crystal. As they stepped through, Evie sucked in a breath at the sight of the room decorated in muted red and gold; the wood parquet flooring reflected the golden glow of the chandeliers. Windows lined the wall opposite them, affording an incredible view of Lake Michigan, framed by red draperies. Simple arrangements of calla lilies and orchids in various shades of red and white complimented the red tablecloths. A full band was playing on the stage at the north end of the room.

Evie stood in the doorway for a few seconds, taking in the view. For some reason, she hadn't expected the understated elegance. But then again, this was Philip, so anything was unexpected. Hunter cleared his throat, breaking her reverie and they descended the stairs into the room. Philip swooped down on them as their feet touched the wood floor.

"Evelyn," he said coyly as he kissed one cheek and then the other. He stepped back and looked at her. "My, my, don't you look absolutely gorgeous!

She had on a strapless full length gown. It faded from a muted dark yellow, to burnt orange to deep red at the bottom. Matching beads swept like scattered sunbeams from her left side to her right. Her hair was swept into a simple twist at the nape of her neck and she wore a circlet of small rubies around her neck while matching stones also glimmered in her ears.

"Very nice, dear," he stated and then turned to Hunter. "And it's good to see you again Hunter," he said as he shook Hunter's hand.

"Thanks. Good to see you too," Hunter replied politely.

"You clean up pretty good as well," Philip said with a grin as he appraised Hunter's appearance in a tuxedo.

Hunter smirked. "You don't do too bad yourself."

"Well let's not stand here blocking traffic," Philip stated as he ushered them farther into the room.

"So what's this party for?" Evie asked. "You weren't exactly informative over the phone."

Philip waved his hand around. "You mean all this?" When Evie nodded, he continued. "Oh, it's just my way of saying thank you to all my clientele for all their faith in me over the years."

"Well, just keep in mind, Philip dear, that I am not working the room for you tonight," Evie reminded him. She had worked for Philip prior to becoming Hunter's personal assistant. She knew how persuasive Philip could be and it was always best to set the record straight with him.

He said nothing, only smiled sweetly in response, and proceeded to take them around and introduce them to different people. Most were Chicago society and some were Hollywood people; directors, actors and producers.

Hunter watched Evie in amazement as she greeted people she already knew and those she didn't. Despite her declaration to Philip, he saw her change from his assistant into a PR person. She made people laugh and feel at ease, no matter how briefly she spoke to them. He was also surprised at the wealth of information she seemed to have about certain people because she was asking about their families and businesses. Between her and Philip, he met several Chicago officials, fashion designers, and a few of the upper members of Chicago society. Not only that, but he was introduced to a couple of film producers as well as a director.

Eventually, Evie and Hunter made it to the bar. Philip had left them to meet someone else. After taking a glass of champagne each, they strolled over towards the windows. The view of Lake Michigan and Lake Shore Drive was stunning. Standing behind her, Hunter let out a low whistle at the view.

"You should see it with a full moon over the lake. Absolutely beautiful," Evie said before taking a sip of the champagne.

Hunter said nothing. Absolutely beautiful could describe the woman standing in front of him. He had to admit, she did look great in that dress from the front and back. His hands itched to smooth over the bare skin of her back, and where her shoulder met her neck, he wanted nothing more than to kiss that spot; to take her hair down and feel the scented weight of it slip through his hands. Hell, ever since she came out of her room in that dress, he'd been wanting to- _Later,_ he reminded himself sharply.

"So, he's had parties here before?" Hunter asked nonchalantly.

"He's done weddings here and dinners, but nothing like this. At least not for himself," she replied, not sensing his mood. "I think this is the first huge party he's thrown for himself. Usually it's just a few close friends for dinner, or a few close friends and their friends at a club."

Hunter nodded, remembering the last time they had been invited to one of Philip's parties. "So how long did you work for him?"

"About five years. It was after I came back from California. He helped me out a lot with that whole mess," she told him. She took another drink of her alcohol.

"How long have you known him all together?" he asked with interest. She had talked about Philip and how he was more of a brother than a friend, but she hadn't really divulged too much about him.

Evie mentally added up the years. "Oh gosh, since I was a freshman in college, so that would be at least twelve years." She looked up at him. "Why?"

Hunter shrugged. "Just wondering." He returned her gaze, a smile forming on his mouth.

"What's so funny?" Evie asked.

"Watching you with all those people. I thought you weren't going to do any schmoozing," he said with amusement. Actually, he was thinking about what he was going to do to her once they got back in the limo to go home.

She chuckled. "Yeah, well, old habits die hard I guess." Her gaze traveled around the room. "It's been a while since I've seen some of these people." She saw Philip making his way towards them with someone in tow. "Uh oh, we've been spotted."

Hunter turned to see who she was talking about and saw Philip as well. "Who's that with him?" he asked as he squinted a little.

"That would be Jake; Philip's other half," Evie said as the two men approached.

"Evie!" Jake exclaimed as he enveloped her in a brief hug.

"Hi Jake," she replied as she returned the hug. "How are you?"

Jake smiled. "I'm doing fine. I've been keeping this one in line," he said as he gestured towards Philip. "How about you?" he asked as his eyes swept over her and then moved to Hunter. "And is this the man I've been hearing about from Philip?"

Evie suppressed a grin. "Yes, this is Hunter," she introduced them as Jake shook Hunter's hand.

Hunter was surprised at the strong grip. The way Jake was acting, he thought it would be a limp one. "Nice to meet you," he said politely.

"So you're a wrestler?" Jake asked with more than casual interest.

Evie caught the gleam in Jake's eyes and knew he was up to something. She quickly averted Jake's attention to herself. "So, how much of this did you take care of Jake?"

That did the trick. Jake was off and rambling about how much a pain in the ass Philip had been while organizing this party. Hunter silently thanked Evie with his eyes as he took a swallow of his champagne. He didn't mind Philip, nor did he care about the relationship between the two men, but he hated it when people baited him. The exception being Evie, of course.

As the evening progressed, dinner was served. Evie and Hunter were seated at Philip's table with a few choice guests. Hunter chatted amicably with the others, answering their questions and asking his own.

Philip, who was seated on Evie's right side, leaned towards her. "I must say, you are looking great. He seems to be doing wonders for you," he stated as he nodded in Hunter's direction.

"And how do you know that?" Evie asked as she raised an eyebrow.

Philip grinned. "I know you, dear. You forget that I've known you long enough to tell when things are doing well. Or," he lowered his voice, "when someone is doing _you_ well," he said suggestively.

A soft laugh escaped Evie. "You're a bad, bad man Philip."

"That may be, but you know that I only have your best interests at heart," he said before taking another bite of his dinner. "And you know that if anything happens, you are always welcome to come back to work for me." He set his knife down. "Believe it or not, you are missed. Certain clients always ask about you."

"I appreciate that Philip, but I don't think I'll be back any time soon," Evie replied quietly. "I know that you're being pragmatic about all of this, and I thank you for that. You know what it means to me to have you watching out for me."

And he always had. Ever since they had become friends during college, they had been almost inseparable. Evie's sister always joked that they were joined at the hip. Philip was family to Evie. He had always taken care of her; especially when she had returned from California. By that time, Philip had gotten his fledgling business off the ground and was in need of help. He offered Evie the job of being his personal assistant/PR person, since the last one had quit, telling Philip he was too demanding. Evie was one of the few people who could put Philip in his place and still keep her job. In a way, he was partly responsible for her low tolerance for B.S.

Dinner finished and Evie was able to talk Hunter into a couple of slow dances. Evie laughed as Hunter seemed to be having a difficult time keeping his hands from straying over her as they danced. After another hour, they said their goodbyes and walked out and down to the limo that was waiting for them. Once they were in the car and on their way back, Hunter slid across the seat and pulled her to him.

"What?" she asked.

He said nothing and his mouth came down on hers. Her arms crept up over his shoulders as the kiss deepened. He kissed her passionately, his tongue laving hers, the inside of her mouth and then her lips. As he withdrew, he looked down at her. Her breathing was coming and going in gasps. Her breasts were straining against the confines of her dress; the very dress that Hunter couldn't wait to help her out of.

When her breathing had calmed, she looked up at him, her eyes twinkling. "Why do I have the feeling that I'm in trouble when we get back?" she asked in an offhand manner.

"Because you are," he growled in response, sending shivers down her spine.

By the time they reached Evie's home, neither of them could keep their hands off each other. They thanked the driver as he let them out and they went up the stairs as quickly as possible. Evie had hardly locked the door, when Hunter swept her up in his arms and carried her into her bedroom.

Once her feet were on the floor, he gave her a blistering kiss while his hands worked the zipper of her dress down. She was pushing his tux jacket over his shoulders. He shrugged it off and it fell to the floor while her hands busied themselves with the buttons of his shirt.

Once his fingers had undone the zipper of her dress, he let it fall to the floor. She stepped out of it and pushed it to one side with her foot. He felt a surge of excitement as he looked at her standing in front of him clad in nothing but her underwear, a pair of thigh high stockings and her shoes. He watched intently as she reached up and removed the pins that held up her hair. Once it fell free, he gathered it into his hands and deeply inhaled its scent.

Her hands tugged his shirt from his pants and she finished unbuttoning it. It was discarded as he leaned in and captured her mouth with his. Evie's hands slid up over his broad shoulders and pulled his hair free from his ponytail; her fingers entwining in the strands as she pulled his head closer. She reveled in the feeling of his warm body pressed against hers and his hands heavy on her hips. Her fingers disengaged from his hair and traveled down towards the fasteners on his pants. Deftly, she undid them and then told him to sit down.

He sat on the edge of the bed as she knelt in front of him and proceeded to remove his shoes and socks. She set them aside and then told him to stand up again. He obliged her and closed his eyes as she pushed his pants down. He stepped out of them and then sighed as her hands began to work his briefs down his legs. Evie kissed her way up his thighs as she stood up. Her mouth burned a trail over his thighs, up his abdomen and over his chest to his mouth. With a growl, he crushed her to him, kissing her fiercely.

She gasped as he pushed her down to sit on the bed. Immediately, he removed her shoes and then his fingers worked the clasp on her bra. When that had been tossed aside, he rolled her stockings off her legs one by one and then moved to take off her thong. She shivered as his fingers brushed against her hips. He removed the fabric gently and set it aside. Repeating the act she had performed on him a few minutes earlier, his mouth blazed a path over her thighs and, pushing her down on the bed, up her body to her breasts. He gently nipped each one before laving the sensitive skin of her neck with his tongue. Hunter stopped and looked down at her.

She was watching him with those green eyes, the passion evident on her face. Slowly, she inched her way up onto the bed and he stretched out over her, continuing to lick, and caress her body. His caresses alternated between soft, melting ones and fierce touches, intended to incite an aggressive desire in her. Between the feel of his fingertips traveling on her skin and the touch of his mouth, Evie felt like she was drowning slowly.

Suddenly, his drugged touch stopped. Her eyes flew open at the absence of sensation and looked at him. He was deftly parting her legs and positioning himself. He hitched her legs up over his shoulders and thrust himself into her. Evie's back arched up as she moaned in response. His momentum quickened as he felt her tighten around him. Her legs slipped down on either side of and he grabbed her hips and pulled her closer. Her fingers dug into the muscles of his back as he laid his full length over her. She enjoyed his weight on her, his body crushing hers to the mattress as he pounded into her.

Evie moved quicker, feeling the familiar spiral of ecstasy ascending. When he felt her, he quickened his own motions, inciting her to come with him with words, his hands gripping her tightly. The climax thundered down on both of them and Evie cried out in half joy, half sob as Hunter roared out his satisfaction.

Still embracing, they collapsed against one another, waiting for their trembling bodies to calm and their breathing to subside to normal. Hunter's mouth kissed her neck over and over as her legs wrapped around his waist, keeping him close.

Eventually, he disengaged himself from her and lay on his side facing her. He watched as she turned her head to gaze at him with those green eyes, a smile of satisfaction on her lips. Hunter said nothing, simply pulled her against him and wrapped his arms around her. Her legs entwined with his as a satiated sigh slipped from his mouth.

"I love you," she whispered against the skin of his chest.

He smiled. "I know," he repeated her often used response.

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews on the prologue. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I'm basically using this to give a little catch-up background on their relationship with each other as well as family and friends since the end of _A Thousand Reasons_. It's taken me a while to get back into the swing of writing these two, so please, do not be afraid to critique anything. Every little bit helps me write better! And if you feel inclined to have a look, I put a pic of Evie up on my site. She's under Fanfic & Misc and it's sort of a big pic, so it may take a bit to load.


	3. Putting Plans in Motion

**Chapter 2**

Hunter chuckled as he watched Goldberg in the ring at the beginning of RAW. The man was complaining about being jumped by either Kane or Hunter every week. Goldberg worked himself into a frenzy and declared a match with both Kane and Hunter that very night.

As Evie sat down next to him, Eric Bischoff came out to let Goldberg know who was in charge.

"Goldberg, I am the one who makes the decisions around her; not you! And I will fire you if you ever try to make a match again because this is not Monday Night RAW; this is the Eric Bischoff show! And no one can do a damn thing about-!"

Mick Foley appeared, cutting Bischoff's tirade off. "Well Eric, I can do something about it, after all, Linda McMahon hired me as an outside consultant to improve the show." He paused as he looked Bischoff up and down. "And believe me, it needs improving."

Bischoff started to protest and Mick cut him off again. "As my first act, I am changing the main event. It will be HBK, RVD and Goldberg vs. Randy Orton, Batista and Kane!"

Goldberg grinned his approval at Mick as Bischoff threw up his hands in disgust.

Mick continued. "This position is mine until the return of Stone Cold Steve Austin in some role or the other." Mick walked over to the edge of the ring and handed the clipboard he had been carrying to Lillian Garcia. "This is a petition for everyone to sign to bring back Austin." Lillian took the clipboard from Mick and he turned back to Bischoff. "The only thing wrong with this show is you, so I'm appointing myself the new co-GM. Have a nice day, Eric." Mick flashed a grin at Bischoff and exited the ring with Goldberg following him.

"Shit," Hunter said quietly. "That's all I need is Mick Foley as a co-GM. Just great," he muttered.

"Complicates things a bit, doesn't it?" Evie asked him as she gestured towards the monitor.

Hunter shook his head. "Not a whole hell of a lot, but yeah, it will complicate things." He stood up and straightened his suit jacket. "It's not like I haven't come up against Foley before though."

Evie watched him as he reached for a bottle of water. Her arm rested along the back of the leather sofa as she thought about this new development. She knew about the animosity between Hunter and Mick Foley. All though, compared to Hunter's feelings about Shawn, this was a picnic in the park. She observed him more closely and noted the scheming look in his eyes.

"You have something in mind?" she asked casually.

He turned to look at her, a little smile on his face. "I think I'm just going to take things easy until Armageddon." He twisted the cap off his bottle of water and took a long drink.

"Meaning?" Evie questioned. She wondered what he had up his sleeve for this go-around.

He finished swallowing and capped the bottle. "Meaning exactly that; I'm not going to give Goldberg and Kane an excuse to get in the ring with me until the pay-per-view."

"And let the rest of Evolution handle the dirty work," Evie concluded.

Hunter nodded in approval. "Exactly. I'm going to let both Kane and Goldberg tear each other apart, with the assistance of Evolution. Then all I have to do at Armageddon is pick up the pieces."

The door to the Evolution locker room opened and Batista, Ric Flair and Randy Orton walked in, bags in hand. Batista gave Evie a small smile when he noticed her. Randy ignored her as he usually did and Ric dropped is bag on the floor and gave Hunter a jumbo grin.

"Where the hell have you guys been?" Hunter demanded.

"Look champ, we were running a little late at the airport. But we're here, so don't get worked up," Ric replied. He looked at Evie. "Bad mood?"

Evie shrugged in response. "That depends I guess. Of course, Mick Foley just made himself co-GM, so…" she trailed off.

The room exploded with questions from the other three members of Evolution. Hunter filled them in on what happened, as well as the fact that the handicap match that Randy and Batista were in was now three on three. Of course, that didn't sit too well with them, but they decided that it was still business as usual.

Throughout the night, Mick proceeded to lay down the law, firing both Scott Steiner and Test. Jonathan Coachman lost his job due to losing a wrestling match between himself and Jerry Lawler. Mick had made that particular stipulation, much to Lawler's delight. He also fired La Resistance, just to show that he could.

Bischoff became more and more agitated as the events progressed. He had tried talking to Linda McMahon, but she simply hung up on him. He planned on calling Vince, but decided to take matters into his own hands. He was, after all, the co-GM of RAW.

Of course, Evie privately had a chuckle at Bischoff's expense. _Doesn't feel so good on the other end, does it Eric?_ she mused silently.

The rest of the locker room was going over strategy for the night. Hunter had filled them in on letting Kane and Goldberg pick each other apart until Armageddon.

When Randy and Batista had gone to change, Ric, Hunter and Evie were amused watching Lawler defeat Coach and send him packing. Ric and Hunter were quietly conversing as the cameras cut to the back where they displayed Jericho and Christian bragging about who was getting farthest with their mutual interests. Then they started arguing over who would bed their girl first and win their bet. Evie shook her head in disgust. It figured that Jericho would do something like that. While he had left Evie alone for the most part, it looked like he still hadn't lost his slimy side. The camera panned out to show that Trish had been listening in and she was now crying.

Ric stood up as Batista and Randy came out of the shower area in their wrestling gear. "Ready to go?"

Both men affirmed that they were and the group headed for the door.

"Give 'em hell, guys," Hunter said as the three men walked out. Hunter sat back down on the sofa next to Evie and gave her a sly grin.

Her eyebrow shot up. "And what is that look for?" she asked casually.

The grin widened and he said nothing in response; only gave her a lascivious look and then turned his attention to the monitor again.

Evie sighed. "I have a bad feeling about this," she said quietly. She also watched the monitor.

RVD, Shawn Michaels and Goldberg were already in the ring and the camera cut to the video of Kane jumping into the fray of Hunter's match with Goldberg last week. As soon as that had finished, Evolution's music came up and the three men walked down the ramp to the ring.

Randy and RVD started off with Randy doing what he could not to get injured by RVD. Before RVD could land a Five Star Frog Splash, Randy managed to roll out of the ring, so RVD turned it around and hit a cross body on Randy outside of the ring instead.

The two men got back in the ring and Randy managed to tag in Batista, who stormed in and wiped the mat with RVD, then tossed him into Evolution's corner. RVD managed a somersault and then knocked Batista around enough to tag in Shawn. Shawn hit the top rope and performed an elbow drop on Batista and then once he landed, gave him a dose of Sweet Chin Music.

Kane entered the fray and choke slammed Shawn. He whipped Shawn into a corner and tried to nail him with a clothes line, but Shawn countered and fought his way out of the corner. Shawn elbowed away another choke slam but immediately ran into a clothesline. He struggled to his corner to tag in someone and slapped Goldberg's hand. Goldberg manhandled both Batista and Randy and then everything went to hell after Goldberg got a hold of Kane.

Somehow Goldberg managed to spear Kane, knocking him to the mat, but before he could pin Kane for the three count, Evolution ran in, but were cleared out by RVD and Shawn. Kane ran, chased by Goldberg as RVD took it to Orton in the ring with spin kicks, a springboard side kick and then a Rolling Thunder, but Ric Flair managed to pull the ref out of the ring before the count. RVD gave Randy a Five Star Frog Splash and Mick Foley ran down for the three count. The bell ran, signifying the win for RVD, Shawn and Goldberg.

Once the chaos had cleared out, Bischoff came storming out. "Foley! You have ruined RAW with your firings! You have depleted the roster and Paul Heyman will be waiting with open arms for those people!" Bischoff climbed into the ring and faced Mick. "At least Austin was competent! I get stuck with you!"

Mick interrupted. "Eric, this was all to show you what happens when ego runs wild. Next week however, it will be Kane versus Goldberg!" His voice dropped just a bit. "And now, I think it's time to give the fans what they want."

Mick dropped the mic and reached into the front of his pants, pulling out Mr. Socko. Bischoff backpedaled as Mick advanced on him, but couldn't escape and was given a Mandible Claw by Mick, much to the crowds' delight.

AS the monitor went black, Batista, Randy and Ric stumbled into the locker room. Ric was vehemently protesting Mick Foley's interference as Batista and Randy headed off to change.

"This is ridiculous!" Ric snapped. "We could've had that match won, but no! Mick Foley has to stick his damn nose in and-" He got so angry he couldn't even talk.

"We'll take care of Foley when the time is right," Hunter talked over Ric. "Don't worry about one match."

"One match!" Ric yelled. "What about every other match he decides to interfere in!"

Hunter only smirked. "Oh, I think Foley will have something else to worry about besides matches pretty soon."

Ric stopped short and looked at Hunter. He noticed the calculating look in his eyes. A grin spread across Ric's face. "You got something going on, don't you, champ?"

Hunter tapped his head with his finger. "Oh, I got something going on alright. So, don't worry about Foley. He'll be taken care of."

Ric clapped Hunter on the shoulder. "See, this is why they call you the Cerebral Assassin." He laughed and headed off to change back into his street clothes.

Evie had remained on the sofa, watching the exchange with interest. She waited until Ric had disappeared before she spoke up. "So, what _do _you have going on in the head of yours?"

Hunter turned to look at her. "Let's just say a few well chosen comments to a certain someone, will guarantee that Foley will be distracted from his co-GM position." He held up a hand as Evie started to ask him another question. "I'm not going to say anymore about it. Just wait and watch."

Evie knew better than to push him. So she waited and watched along with Ric. Over the next week, she saw Hunter talking to Randy constantly. Whenever he had the opportunity, Hunter would bend Randy's ear, but Evie was never told what it was about. She shrugged it off, figuring it had to do with either Goldberg or Kane. She did notice, however, that he never talked to Batista the way he talked to Randy.

* * *

Hunter sat out on RAW the following week. He didn't make an appearance in the ring, nor did he make any on camera appearances either. He simply sat back and let Goldberg and Kane go at each other. As the show progressed, Bischoff set up Jericho and Christian to face Trish and Lita at Armageddon after the two men lost their tag title match to the Dudley Boyz due to interference from Lita and Trish. Christian looked thrilled while Jericho looked less excited about the prospect of facing Trish in a match. Batista faced Rob Van Dam and won with a power bomb. Hunter grinned his approval as the ref did the three count.

Kane appeared on the monitor, talking about killing his neighbor's dog and watching it rot, not to mention being eaten by maggots. He went on to explain that Goldberg annoyed him, while the fans reminded him of maggots. He stated that when he takes the belt at the pay per view, Goldberg won't like it; Hunter won't like it; the fans won't like it, but he will.

"He won't be getting his hands on that title at Armageddon!" Ric exclaimed. "We all know who's gonna walk outta there the champion, don't we?" he said excitedly as he clapped Hunter on the back.

"He won't like what I'm going to do to him in the ring, and he definitely won't like it when I walk outta there with that belt," Hunter responded with a grin.

Evie stood up and stretched. "I think I'm going to go scrounge up some juice from catering. Anyone else want anything?" she asked casually. They all shook their heads in response. Before she reached the door, Hunter cautioned her to be careful. She smiled in response as she left the room.

The walk down was uneventful. She stopped and chatted amicably with a couple of the crew members on her way there. As she entered the catering area, she noticed Mick Foley passing the petition to Lita to sign. Evie grabbed a bottle of juice and waved at Lita as she caught her eye. Lita grinned as she handed Mick the petition back. Evie walked over to them.

She nodded at Mick as she approached. "How are you, Mick?"

"Oh, I'm doing okay. How about you?" Mick responded.

Evie smiled. "Fine; just fine." She looked down at the petition. "I see you have quite a few names on that."

Mick nodded. "Yeah, and Lita here just added her name."

Evie looked at Lita. "You can't stand Bischoff either, huh?" Evie asked with a wry smile.

A laugh escaped Lita. "Yeah, well Steve did give me my job back. I figured it was the least I could do." She looked Evie over. "So, what've you been up to? I don't see much of you anymore now that you're hanging with Evolution."

"Keeping Hunter in line," Evie stated matter-of-factly. "You know what a pain in the ass he is."

Mick laughed at that. "I forgot you're Triple H's assistant." He shook his head. "I saw that match. I thought he fired you."

A mock portentous expression crossed her features. "He did, but came crawling back." Evie tossed her hair over shoulder, imitating Jericho. "What can I say? He can't live without me." Lita scowled at Evie's mocking of Jericho's mannerisms.

Evie caught the look on her face. "Sorry," she apologized. "He's probably one of the last people you need reminding of."

"It's okay," Lita assured her. "I'm not heartbroken over Christian or anything." She looked at Mick. "Austin was right; Christian is a C.L.B."

Mick laughed. "Yeah he definitely is a creepy little bastard." He saw one of the production people motioning to him. "Excuse me ladies, but I need to go."

Both women said goodbye to Mick and Evie turned her attention back to Lita. "So, how have you been doing with the whole bet thing?"

Lita shrugged. "I'm more pissed than anything else. Trish was the one who got hurt. She was really digging Jericho." Her hand came up and swept through her hair, pushing it back from her face. "She's done crying; now she just wants to kick his ass."

Evie nodded, understanding how that felt. "Don't you have a tag team match with Trish tonight?"

"Yeah. I really wanted Christian and Jericho tonight, but Bischoff's being a prick and saving that for the pay-per-view." She smiled at Evie. "I really should get going. Gotta warm up."

"Sure," Evie replied as Lita started backing up. "Good luck."

"Thanks," Lita replied as she gave Evie a thumbs up. "I'll talk to you soon."

Evie watched as Lita disappeared around the corner. "Right," she murmured. She knew she probably wouldn't be talking to Lita any time soon. Ever since Lita had returned and found that Evie had become involved with Hunter, she had steered clear of Evie. Evie hadn't been exactly sure why. She and Lita never had a problem with each other. Lita was friendly towards her, but didn't go out of her way to be friends with Evie.

_Too bad, _Evie thought_. It would be nice to have a female friend._

She shrugged it off as she walked back to the locker room. When she entered, the monitor displayed The Rock in the ring with Mick Foley, giving La Resistance a difficult time. He had a go at them, insulting them at every opportunity and they attacked him and Mick in retaliation. La Resistance was beaten down and they made a hasty retreat while The Rock shouted is signature tag line.

Evie situated herself on the sofa and watched as the rest of the show progressed. Evolution was off in a corner talking about the Lumberjack match between Kane and Goldberg that was coming up soon. Lita and Trish were defeated by Victoria and Molly Holly. All too soon, Ric, Randy and Batista were leaving for the lumberjack match.

Hunter sat back on the sofa. "Well, let's see how much Goldberg gets softened up tonight," he stated with a smirk.

Evie simply shook her head as she made room for him. Ever since Goldberg had won the title, Hunter had been working his mind furiously for ways to beat the man down before stepping in the ring with him.

Throughout the match, Hunter remained quiet, at least until the end. The lumberjacks had all entered the ring, causing Kane to be disqualified. They all ganged up on Goldberg until RVD came down and attacked Randy. RVD was overwhelmed by the lumberjacks as well, but then Booker T and Shawn Michaels came down and attacked Mark Henry and Batista, effectively turning the tide and clearing the lumberjacks out of the ring. Shawn went for a Sweet Chin Music on Kane, but it failed to knock him over. Goldberg quickly followed that up with a spear and Kane hit the mat hard. Shawn, RVD, Booker T and Goldberg celebrated as the show ended and the monitor went black.

Hunter couldn't believe Shawn Michaels had interfered in his business yet again! He swore softly as the rest of Evolution stumbled back into the locker room.

Evie wisely remained silent. She had seen the look on Hunter's face and knew that the other three men were definitely going to get an earful. But surprisingly, Hunter only grimaced at them and shrugged.

"You did what you could," he said quietly. "There's still the rest of the week to take care of him."

Randy raised an eyebrow at Hunter's lack of outburst. Batista only nodded in consent. Ric, however, was a bit quicker on the uptake and grinned at Hunter.

"You're right H. I know we didn't exactly come out on top there, but at least we got a hurting on him!" Ric stated loudly. "Don't worry. That belt is as good as yours at Armageddon!"

Hunter looked at Ric, his eyes now gleaming in anticipation. "You're damn right it is." His gaze traveled over Randy and Batista. His voice lowered. "And none of you better forget that."

Clothes were changed, bags packed and loaded into the limo and they were on their way back to the hotel. Batista was sitting next to Evie as Hunter was once again, talking quietly with Randy. Ric was chatting away on his cell phone.

Evie looked up at Batista and noticed him watching the two men. "You know what's going on?" she asked quietly.

He glanced at her. "No idea at all," he responded softly. "I'm assuming you don't either."

Evie shook her head. "Hunter hasn't said a word about it to me. But that's not unusual."

A low chuckle came from Batista. "So what else is new?" he joked.

Evie smiled. "True, but I wonder what he's up to all the same." And she had been wondering. She thought it may have to do with what Hunter had said about Mick Foley being distracted from his duties, but wasn't quite sure if talking to Randy was going to accomplish anything.

Evie and Hunter bade goodnight to the other three men when they reached their hotel room. Evie unlocked the door and they walked in. Hunter dropped his bag on the floor as the door swung shut behind them. Evie set hers down and proceeded to remove her coat and scarf. As she hung her coat up, Hunter disappeared into the bathroom. The water for the shower started running and Evie started removing her clothes in preparation for bed. The door to the bathroom swung shut as she was pulling her nightshirt out of her suitcase.

She propped herself up against the headboard, her book in one hand. She made herself comfortable and began reading. Hunter finally emerged from the bathroom with his clothes in one hand and without a stitch on his body. Evie was too engrossed in her novel to notice.

He slid under the blankets, facing Evie. She didn't acknowledge him, but kept reading. He watched as she continued reading her book. His hand slipped under the sheet, moving towards her thigh. His fingertips encountered warm flesh and he proceeded to gently run his fingers up and down the sensitive skin, trying to get her attention.

After a few passes, she set the book down in her lap and looked over at him. "Is there something I can help you with?" she asked him.

"Yeah, you can put that book away and pay attention to me," he said with a faint grin.

"Maybe I don't want to pay attention to you. Maybe I want to read." She smiled at him. "I did buy this book for a reason, you know."

The faint smile grew wider. "Well, I'm in this bed, naked, with you for a reason, you know."

"Is that so?" she asked innocently. Hunter nodded in response. "You're actually naked?" Hunter nodded again. She scrunched up her nose as she pondered that thought. "Hmmm… tough call. I can either read my book or pay attention to the naked man in my bed." She pretended to think it over for a couple more seconds and then picked her book up again. "Too bad for the naked man," she said as she started reading. A sideways glance showed her that he wasn't too happy about her decision. She laughed softly to herself. She was only teasing him, but she enjoyed it. It kept him on his toes.

Hunter reached over and jerked the book out of her hand. She voiced her disapproval as he dropped it over his side of the bed, and she leaned over him to try and retrieve it. He then reached out, pulled her down on him and kissed her deeply. She moaned into his mouth as his hand found her breast and began caressing it through the fabric of her nightshirt. The kiss was broken after a minute and Evie pushed back to look at him.

"What was that for?" she asked.

"That's for not paying attention to the naked man," he replied huskily. "There's more to it, but the thing is, you have to be naked too." As he said this, his fingers found the hem of her nightshirt and gently tugged on it.

"Maybe I don't want to be naked," she responded as she shifted herself out of his embrace.

"Evie," he protested. He'd been waiting to get her alone all day and he wasn't in the mood for her to play hard to get.

"Hunter," she mimicked his tone of voice. "I'm not interested in getting naked with you right now."

"Well, what are you interested in, then?" he asked as he leered at her.

She sat up as she faced him and steered the conversation in a totally opposite direction. "I'm more interested in what you've been talking to Randy about."

That was completely out of left field. He hadn't been expecting her to ask him about that; at least, not at that moment. "Is that so?" he questioned. When she affirmed that it was, he spoke up again. "And why do you want to know?"

"Because I find it awfully strange that you would take so much time to talk to him and not Dave," she replied. She had been wondering that for the past week. She had her suspicions, but that was all.

Hunter decided to clue her in. "Well, you know how I said that a few well chosen comments to a certain someone, will guarantee that Foley will be distracted from his co-GM position." Evie nodded and Hunter continued. "Seeing as Randy calls himself the Legend Killer, I figured that he'd be eager to take on another legend and at the same time, sidetrack Foley from his co-GM position." He hesitated and then added, "It just might make him decide being a co-GM isn't good for his health."

"I see," Evie said slowly. "Interesting." She had figured Hunter would think of something like that. "So, do you have faith in Randy's abilities, or are you just manipulating him into doing the dirty work for you?"

"A little of both," Hunter replied. He noticed the look on her face. "Oh come on, Evie. I know you don't really like Randy, so what difference does it make? It gives him more credibility and bragging rights, and I get what I want. Where's the harm in that?"

Evie said nothing. He was right; she didn't really care for Randy. He always treated her with a modicum of respect because of Hunter, but, like Ric, he made her uncomfortable. She knew she needed to watch her back around him. The only one she trusted besides Hunter was Dave.

Hunter watched her. "Don't tell me you have a soft spot for Foley," he snorted in derision.

"No, but he's given me no reason to dislike him," she replied. "But then again, this is business for you, so…" she trailed off and shrugged. Business was business.

"I'll just have to have a little chat with Mr. Bischoff by the time Armageddon rolls around," Hunter continued, "and you're damn right it's business." His expression became lecherous as he looked at her. "And I've got some other business with you," he said suggestively.

Evie laughed and tried to escape as he reached for her. It was useless to struggle as he had her out of her nightshirt and pinned to the bed within seconds. Her laughter turned to moans as he showed her exactly what sort of business he meant.

* * *

Hunter disappeared in search of Bischoff while Evie watched Lita and Trish's match against Jericho and Christian. She was glad that Armageddon was finally underway. Ric's constant pep talks had been getting in her nerves. She didn't know how Hunter withstood Ric's babbling at times, but she knew Ric had accomplished a lot in the business, and that Hunter respected him for that.

Randy's match against RVD for the Intercontinental Title had resulted in Randy becoming the new IC champion, despite Mick Foley's guest refereeing. Ric had tried to interfere more than once to give Randy the advantage, resulting in RVD taking a blow to the crotch on the top rope. That had given Randy the opportunity to hit RVD with and RKO and Mick begrudgingly did the three count. Randy had celebrated with Ric in the ring, proudly displaying the belt. He didn't bother changing out of his gear as he, Ric and Batista were providing back up during Hunter's title match against Kane and Goldberg.

Dave was warming up as Ric changed in the locker room. He was facing Shawn Michaels and then after that, he and Ric were in a tag team turmoil match for the tag titles. Evie secretly hoped Dave pounded Shawn into the mat. While Shawn had not spoken to her since she had returned, she still harbored a little resentment towards him for trying to use her against Hunter.

Her attention was on the monitor as she watched Christian and Jericho make short work of the two women. Evie winced in sympathy as Jericho yanked Lita out of the ring and tossed her into the guard rail while Christian rolled Trish up for the win. Christian celebrated the win, while Evie noted the look of dismay on Jericho's face.

_Could it be that Jericho is actually human somewhere in there?_ she thought wryly. It was unlike him to show an emotion like that. She recalled the look of perverse pleasure he'd had on his face when she had squared off in the ring with him back in March. _Maybe he was actually digging Trish too_, Evie pondered, then shook her head. _Weird_, _but possibly true_.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Ric and Dave heading out for Dave's match. Evie wished them both luck. They both grinned at her. No sooner had the door closed behind them, than Hunter walked in with Randy. Both men were smiling hugely. Evie knew why Randy was smiling, and could only assume that things went as planned with Bischoff for Hunter. Hunter looked down at Evie, still wearing that smile.

She arched an eyebrow at him. "I take it everything went all right?" she asked.

"Everything went just fine," Hunter responded and then turned to his bag to get his gear out. He pulled it out and set it aside as Shawn and Batista started their match.

After going back and forth several times, Batista reversed Shawn's Sweet Chin Music into a couple of spine busters. He then went for a power bomb, but Shawn hopped off Batista's shoulders and then delivered a super kick out of nowhere. After the bell had rung, Ric helped a confused and then angry Batista to his feet and backstage, where Batista cursed loudly and proudly.

However bad Batista had come out of the previous match, he and Ric emerged from the next one as tag team champs; beating out the worn down Dudley Boyz, who had gone through Jindrak and Cade and then Test and Scott Steiner. Before Lillian could announce The Dudleys as the champs, Bischoff had appeared and announced the final team of Batista and Ric Flair. The two made short work of the Dudleys and Batista hit a sit out power bomb for the win.

Hunter and Randy high-fived each other as Batista and Ric walked up the ramp with the belts. Hunter then disappeared to change into his gear for his match. Ric and Batista burst into the locker room, holding the title belts high and exchanging slaps on the back with Randy.

Evie congratulated both men as they downed a couple of bottles of water each. Randy expressed his admiration at their belts and they congratulated him on his. Hunter finally emerged from the changing area and after applauding the new tag team champs, began warming up.

Hunter went out to the match without an escort. He had told the rest of Evolution to wait backstage until it looked like he needed assistance.

It started off with a three way stare down between himself, Goldberg and Kane. Kane and Hunter worked on Goldberg together, but that was short-lived when Kane turned on Hunter. Goldberg took his chance and power slammed Kane down, but he sat up. Kane manhandled the Goldberg while Hunter hid outside the ring. He came back in when Goldberg had the advantage, but received a suplex for his pain. Kane went to the top rope, but Goldberg slammed him off. Hunter tried attacking from behind, but Goldberg power slammed him as well

Once again Kane and Hunter worked together on Goldberg, but when Hunter went for the pin, the partnership ended quickly. Before the two men came to blows, Goldberg recovered and tossed Hunter out of the ring. Just before Kane jostled Goldberg into position for a choke slam, Hunter "accidentally" hit him with a steel chair. Goldberg took advantage of the situation and was about to break Hunter's leg using the chair, when Kane threw him outside and then followed to keep beating him down. Goldberg ended up taking a elbow drop form Hunter on the Spanish announce table, causing it to collapse. Hunter then grabbed another steel chair to use on Kane, but Kane turned away from him and in the process, hunter dropped the chair and slammed Kane into the steel steps instead.

Kane chased Hunter back into the ring and worked him over with everything he had. He went looking for the choke slam, but Hunter put a thumb in Kane's eye. A DDT from Hunter couldn't keep Kane down and Hunter ran, but Kane caught him and choke slammed him on the steel ramp. He flung Hunter back to the ring just in time to get speared by Goldberg.

After all three men got to their feet, they began trading punches. Kane and Hunter worked together again, but couldn't keep Goldberg down. He speared Kane first and then Hunter. That's when the remaining three members of Evolution ran down to the ring. Goldberg made short work of them and then covered Hunter for the count, but only got two due to Kane breaking it up. Goldberg and Kane tried to choke each other out, but Hunter broke that up and Evolution pulled Kane to the outside.

While Batista and Randy restrained Kane, Hunter managed to pedigree and pin Goldberg for the win. Evolution swarmed the ring, celebrating with Hunter on his victory while the officials checked on both Kane and Goldberg.

The four men walked back into Evolution's locker room. Hunter dropped the title on the couch and pulled Evie into a hug.

"Congratulations," she whispered in his ear as he gently squeezed her.

He smiled at her as he let go. Somehow, Ric had procured some champagne, which was being delivered at that moment by four women he had the foresight to make an arrangement with earlier. Ric cracked open the champagne as the women each attached themselves to one of the men.

Hunter caught the amused look on Evie's face as one woman ran a hand appreciatively over his arm. She didn't have to worry, however. Hunter spoke quietly to the woman as he disengaged his arm from her hand. The woman looked at Evie then back at Hunter and shrugged as if to say "your loss." He passed her off to Randy, who gladly took her.

He took the glass of champagne Ric was offering him, as well as Evie, and they toasted their victories of the evening.

One by one, the men disappeared into the changing area to clean up and put their street clothes back on. The champagne disappeared and the group left the locker room and headed for the limo. Once inside, Ric produced another bottle of champagne and announced that they were heading back to the hotel for private celebrations.

Ric looked over at Hunter. "So, how does it feel to be the nine time World Heavyweight champ?"

A huge grin spread across Hunter's mouth. "Feels damn good, Ric. And if Goldberg or Kane think they're getting another shot at this title, they're sadly mistaken." He glanced down at the tag team title lying on the seat next to Ric. "How does it feel to be one half of the best damn tag team in the business?"

Ric raised his glass. "Feels damn good, champ!" he echoed. He looked around at the other two men. "Here's to Evolution! The group with all the gold!"

They all raised their glasses in salute. "To Evolution!"

* * *

**A/N:** Thank you for being so patient in waiting for this chapter. I apologize for taking so long, but with all the stuff that's been going on, it's been difficult finding time to work on this. I realize it's heavy on the wrestling and low on the interaction between characters, but I'm trying to speed up the actual plot a little. If you notice anything out of whack or that's not quite right, let me know please. You know where to find my email addy! 

I thank you all for the reviews that were left for Chapter 1! I appreciate the fact that you took the time to read the story _and_ leave a review. Nice to see a few new readers too!


	4. New and Old Adversaries

**Chapter 3**

Evie finished taping up Hunter's left wrist for his handicap match that night. In the other room, she could hear Randy bragging to Ric about his title belt and wanting to beat down Mick Foley. He was going on about killing another legend in the business and Ric kept egging him on. She shook her head as she secured the tape.

"What're you shaking your head for?" Hunter asked casually.

"Listening to those two," she said as she nodded towards the doorway.

Hunter grinned. "Your two favorite people," he responded, tongue-in-cheek.

"Along with Jericho and Bischoff," she picked up matter-of-factly, "and Vince and Shawn."

His grin grew bigger. "Anyone else you wanna add to that list?"

"_You'll_ be on my shit list if you don't shut up," she replied with a little smile.

He chuckled. "I'm always on your shit list, woman. What makes now any different?"

"True, but I'm easier on you than I am on them," Evie replied as she set the tape down on the counter top.

Hunter laughed outright. "You're easy on me? You're about as easy as a nuclear war."

She teasingly smacked him on the arm. "You're pushing it, buster."

His hands reached out and pulled her up against him. She smiled as she looked into his eyes. Hunter's mouth pressed against hers briefly, not wanting to be walked in on by the other members of Evolution. As he withdrew, he noted the disappointment in her eyes.

"Hold that thought," he said huskily.

A noise at the door caused both of them to turn. Batista filled up the space with his huge form.

"If you two are finished, we got a match to warm up for," he said as he looked from Hunter to Evie and then back again as their embrace broke. "And whatever her idea for a warm up is, I'm not doing it with you, Hunter," he finished with a hint of amusement. He winked at Evie and then ducked as she threw the roll of tape at him. Grinning, Hunter followed him out.

Evie settled herself into the sofa, watching Mick Foley and Bischoff on the monitor. She was alone as Hunter, Batista and Ric had gone off to warm up for their handicap match against RVD and Shawn Michaels. As soon as they had left the room, Randy walked out as well, presumably to scout out female companionship for the night.

Mick was expounding on the fact that it was his idea to bring back Stone Cold Steve Austin along with the one million signatures that he had managed to garner from posting the petition on the internet. He stated that he had a meeting the following week to try and get Austin back, and mentioned that Austin himself would be there as well.

Bischoff simply grinned. "You know Mick, the people love you. Not as a co-GM, but as the Hardcore Legend. There was that tremendous energy you and The Rock had last week in this ring. In fact, I have a little something to show you, Mick."

Bischoff gestured at the Titan Tron and it displayed a video of Mick's rise to stardom. It showed some key moments in his career and by the time it ended, the crowd was chanting Mick's name.

"You see, Mick? The people don't want co-GM Foley; they want Hardcore Legend Mick Foley," Bischoff stated.

"Well, Eric, I have been toying around with the idea of getting in the ring for real, but when I do, it'll be under my terms and no one else's," Mick replied earnestly.

Bischoff grinned. "How about we settle things tonight with Hardcore Legend Mick Foley versus the Legend Killer, Randy Orton!" Bischoff paused as the crowd cheered. "If Orton loses, I'll resign, but if you lose Mick, you resign."

Mick thought about it for a minute and then spoke up. "Well, Eric, I have to decline, unless you give me the best referee in the business, Earl Hebner, and Evolution are banned from ringside."

Bischoff agreed, but Mick had more to add. "And you are banned from ringside as well, Eric."

"Fine, we have a deal," Bischoff agreed.

"Oh, by the way, since I've never been the Intercontinental Champ, I'm making it a title match as well," Mick stated authoritatively.

Evie rolled her eyes. From the stipulations, if Randy won or lost tonight, he'd be an absolute pain in the ass. She really was not looking forward to hearing him gloat, or whine and complain.

A few minutes into a tag team match, Evie's solitude was disrupted as Randy banged the door open and marched in. He looked around and his eyes stopped at the sight of Evie sitting on the couch.

"Where is everybody?" he asked her.

"Hunter, Batista and Ric went off somewhere to warm up for their match," Evie replied.

Randy gestured at the monitor. "Were you watching that?"

"Yes," Evie replied slowly. "Why?"

A self important grin spread across his face. "It's time for the Legend Killer to beat down another legend." He grabbed his bag and headed into the bathroom to change.

Evie let out an exasperated sigh and her attention was turned back to the monitor. She watched as Mick was shown getting ready for his match. He was talking to Shawn Michaels.

"Is it possible to wrestle one more match?" Mick asked him.

Shawn grinned. "I had only come back for one more match, yet here I am."

Mick nodded as he adjusted his shirt. "So was the moment where you beat Triple H worth all the sacrifice you've made this year?"

"Definitely worth it," replied Shawn.

"Well, hand me my flannel shirt because I have a match to wrestle," Mick stated as he held a hand out towards Shawn.

Shawn handed Mick his flannel shirt and the scene faded to be immediately replaced by a shot of the ring.

Randy stepped out of the bathroom in his wrestling gear and sat down on the far end of the sofa to watch the handicap match that was coming up next.

It started off well enough for the three members of Evolution, but the tide quickly turned when Shawn drove Ric into the ropes face forward for a roll up. Hunter hit Shawn off from the corner. Meanwhile, Ric seemed to have hit his nose on the rope and he rolled out of the ring. Batista and Hunter worked Shawn over as Ric recovered and then climbed to the top rope. He botched the fall and clipped both Hunter and Batista. Shawn was able to tag in RVD, who promptly attacked Batista. During their altercation, RVD bumped the ref and was unable to get a pin after performing a 5 Star Frog Splash. Hunter and Ric ran back in and RVD took a Pedigree from Hunter. While the ref was still down, they dragged and unconscious Batista over and draped him across and unconscious RVD. They managed to shake the ref awake and he started the count, but only made it to two as RVD kicked out.

Ric was livid and proceeded to give RVD a figure four after Batista tagged him in. They went back and forth for a few more minutes and then Ric tagged Hunter in. Hunter worked RVD's legs over. Finally RVD was able to tag Shawn in and he stood face to face with Hunter. They glared at one another for a few seconds and then Shawn shoved Hunter backwards. Hunter responded by delivering a couple chops to Shawn's chest. They locked up and danced around the canvas until Shawn broke the hold and whipped Hunter into the corner. He quickly ran up and delivered a clothesline to Hunter.

Both Batista and Ric got back in the ring, but Shawn swiftly cleared them out. He ran back and gave Hunter another clothesline and Hunter fell to the mat. Shawn climbed to the top turnbuckle and delivered an elbow drop onto Hunter, and then started tuning up the band for some Sweet Chin Music.

Meanwhile, RVD splashed Batista and Ric on the outside of the ring. While they were down, Shawn went for his move and Hunter managed to power bomb him instead. RVD kept the other two men busy on the outside and Hunter and Shawn Climbed to their feet. Shawn tried a super kick, but it was blocked. He was tossed into the opposite corner and then Hunter turned to see what was going on outside the ring. Shawn regained his strength and managed to surprise Hunter with some Sweet Chin Music anyway. He promptly covered Hunter for the win.  
Randy groaned his disappointment as he stood up. "I'm going to warm up," he announced to Evie and then left the room.

She made her way down to the staging area and met Batista, Ric and Hunter on their way back. Hunter had an arm draped over Batista's shoulder and Ric was holding an ice pack against Hunter's chin.

"Is he okay?" she asked Ric tentatively.

Ric nodded. "He'll be fine. Nothing he can't shake off, right champ?" he asked as he looked at Hunter.

"Michaels is a dead man," Hunter simply stated in reply.

The group made it back to Evolution's locker room and Batista eased Hunter onto the sofa. Ric handed Evie the ice pack and he and Batista went to change. Evie sat down and held the ice pack up to Hunter's chin. His hand came up and took the place of hers.

"I'm gonna kill him," he said quietly.

"I take it you're talking about Shawn," Evie replied just as quietly.

Hunter said nothing in return. He just gave her a venomous look.

Evie switched the subject. "Are you going to change here or wait until we get back to the hotel?"

Hunter tipped his head back and adjusted the ice. "I'll change before we leave. Just give me a minute or two."

Ric and Batista came out dressed in their street clothes and sat down with Hunter and Evie to watch Randy's match against Mick Foley.

Before Mick left for the ring, he wished Shawn luck against his match with Triple H in two weeks. Hunter grinned in response. At least Mick did something right for once. Now he didn't have to bother going to Bischoff and demanding a match with Shawn.

Once Randy and Mick had been announced, Mick refused to get in the ring with his opponent. He stalled for the longest time and then he turned and walked out, leaving Randy in a state of disbelief in the ring. Randy climbed out and went looking for Mick.

The camera found Mick in his locker room, picking up his suitcase. He ran into Bischoff on his way out to the parking lot.

"You know the stipulation still stands if you walk out," Bischoff said to him.

At that point, Randy came up along side Bischoff and looked at Mick. 'What happened to our match? You brag about being the hard core legend and you walk out?"

Mick didn't answer; he just looked to the side, avoiding Randy's gaze.

Randy got right in Mick's face. "Is that a tear Mick? Is it?" he demanded. "Is Mick Foley gonna cry?" he jeered. "Ya know what, Mick? Legends don't cry; legends don't walk away." Randy continued to work himself up as Mick just quietly stood there and took it.

"Mick Foley, you're not a legend; you're a coward!" Randy exclaimed and then spit directly in Mick's face. He stood there with a smugly triumphant look on his face.

Mick said nothing at all; he simply wiped the spit from his face and turned and walked out of the arena. The monitor faded to black. In the Evolution locker room, everyone sat in stunned silence.

Finally after a minute, Hunter spoke up. "Well, I guess that's one less thing we have to worry about."

Ric shook his head slowly. "I don't know H. This could be a set up on Foley's end."

A laugh escaped Hunter. "Set up? I doubt it Ric. Foley walked out on a match. He's never going to live it down now."

Once things calmed down and Randy had returned and changed, they were all on their way back to the hotel. Of course, Randy was bragging about having taken care of another legend in the business, stating that he didn't even have to lay a hand on him. Ric encouraged him, stating that only a true legend killer could psych out an opponent enough to get them to walk out on a match like that. Their conversation continued through the ride, through the hotel lobby and into the hotel bar with Batista in tow.

Evie and Hunter waved a goodnight to the other three men and headed up to their room. Once inside, Hunter dumped his things on the floor and headed towards the bathroom.

"Need any help?" Evie asked.

"No," he grunted before swinging the door shut.

Evie promptly readied herself for bed. No sooner had she pulled the blankets up over her legs than Hunter came out of the bathroom. As he put everything away Evie made herself comfortable.

"How's your chin?" she asked casually.

Hunter shrugged in response. "Okay," he said quietly. He really wasn't in much of a mood to talk. The fact that Shawn had gotten the best of him earlier was still souring his disposition. He puttered around for a few more minutes, setting out clothes for the next day and reorganizing his suitcase.

Recognizing his mood, Evie didn't bother to carry on talking. Instead, she rolled onto her side, closed her eyes and listened to him move around. If he didn't want to talk, she wasn't going to push a conversation on him. She adjusted the pillow under her head and settled into a more comfortable position.

After a few more minutes, Hunter finally turned the light off and climbed into bed next to her. He rolled over so that he was facing her. His eyes adjusted to the dimness and he could make out the back of her slender form draped in the blanket. Tentatively, he reached a hand out and his fingers gently touched the middle of her back, wondering if she was asleep. Evie stirred slightly.

"Is there something I can help you with?" she asked softly without turning over.

"I just wondered if you were asleep yet," he said in return.

"No." She glanced over her shoulder at him. "How could I fall asleep with you making all that racket?"

Hunter chuckled a little. "Sorry. Just trying to sort things out."

Evie rolled onto her back. "It's okay. I know you're pissed about the outcome of that match."

"Not so much that. More like I'm pissed at Shawn," he replied as he reached over and ran a finger down her shoulder and then her arm.

She fought off a smile. It was the old song and dance again. She had a feeling those two would be at each others throats for the rest of their careers. "So, what are you going to do about it?" she asked.

"Whip his ass in two weeks," Hunter rumbled as he moved closer to her. A small smile appeared on his mouth. "At least one of my goals was accomplished though."

"You mean getting rid of Mick," Evie stated.

"I told you Randy would come through, didn't I?" Hunter asked in response as his arm slid across her abdomen.

"Mm hmm," she replied nonchalantly. A smile broke out when she felt his arm wind around her waist and pull her closer to him. So he wanted a cuddle; that was fine.

Hunter wrapped himself around her, nestling his face in the side of her neck. Her hair gently tickled his cheek and he breathed in her familiar scent. The knot of anger he had been feeling since the match slowly unwound and faded. He found it interesting that just touching her, drawing in her fragrance, could make him relax. She was like his own personal security blanket. He smiled at that thought as he dropped a kiss on her shoulder.

"What are you grinning for?" she asked. She'd felt the smile against her skin.

"Just comparing you to a blanket," he murmured.

She peeked at him over her shoulder. "A blanket?" she queried. "What the hell for?"

His arm pulled her closer; his long legs entwining with hers. "You're like my own personal blanket; sort of like kids carry around when they're little. Well, snuggling with you kind of reminded me of that," he explained. "My security blanket."

A giggle slipped out of Evie. "I don't know whether to be offended or amused by that," she confessed. "It's not every day I get compared to a child's blanket."

"Didn't you have one when you were little?" Hunter asked.

"Actually, I had this hideous terrycloth hat I used to wear with everything. It was bright yellow, shocking pink and white. One of my aunts had bought it for me and I wore that thing to death. My mother hated it. She used to try and hide it from me, but I'd always manage to find it."

Hunter nestled his face into the crook of her neck. "Did it have a name?"

"No. I only called it my hat." She moved her hand so her fingers could glide up and down his forearm. "Why?"

He shrugged. "Just curious," he replied. His thumb rubbed gently against her stomach. "Did you have a nickname in high school?"

Evie grinned. "Yes I did, but I'm not telling you," she teased.

"Why? Was it that bad or something?" His lips found the soft skin of her neck.

"I'm not telling you because you'll just make fun of me," she replied and then gasped softly at the touch of his mouth.

"C'mon, Evie; I won't laugh," he whispered. His hand moved from her belly to her hip and he languidly stroked the curve of her thigh and hip.

She sighed in response to his ministrations. "Okay," she relented. "When I was younger and I used to laugh really hard, it would sound squeaky, like one of those chew toys for dogs. So my best friend at the time started calling me Squeaky."

Hunter pushed back a chuckle. "You know, now that I think about it, you make a squeaking noise sometimes when we have sex. So, I guess Squeaky is a good nickname for you," he said amusedly.

She weakly protested and he broke out laughing. Her body twisted around so she could face him and her hand came up to playfully hit him. Hunter just laughed harder. Finally she stopped pummeling him.

"As long as you keep it confined to just you and me. I don't want you calling me that in public," Evie said in response. "That's all I need is that one getting out. My family would have a field day with it. Not to mention the rest of Evolution."

Hunter wiped away a few tears that had slipped out. "I promise I'll only call you that in private," he said breathlessly

She became quiet for a few minutes, and then an idea popped into her head. "Well if you're going to call me that, then I think you should get a nickname too."

"Oh yeah?" he asked. "So what's mine then?"

Evie giggled as she thought about it. He was probably going to hate it, but he'd started it. "I think I'm going to call you Bunny."

"Bunny?" he snorted. "What the hell for?"

"Because you fuck like a rabbit," she replied and then collapsed into a fit of laughter.

Hunter grimaced good-naturedly. He supposed that one bad nickname deserved another. And it did have some truth to it. "All right. I guess I deserve that one," he said finally.

"Damn right you do… Bunny," Evie stated when she'd finished laughing.

"Oh hush up, Squeaky," he growled as he pulled her as close as he could. "And you don't repeat that name in public either," he warned.

She cocked an eyebrow and gave him a mischievous look. "Oh I don't know. I think that one deserves to be repeated in public."

"You do and you're dead, Mackenzie," he rumbled mock threateningly as his arms tightened around her.

"Promises, promises," Evie retorted.

He gently kissed the column of her neck again and felt her shiver in response. "Go to sleep woman," he said as he closed his eyes.

She sighed and settled herself more comfortably in his arms as her eyes slipped shut.

* * *

Christmas was rapidly approaching, and Evie managed to find some time to finish up her holiday shopping between house shows that week. With that to be accomplished, as well as checking up on things at her own home, she quickly became exhausted, but didn't complain. By Monday, she and Hunter were traveling out to the suburbs of Chicago for Christmas with her family. She had been slightly surprised when he accepted her invitation to spend Christmas with her. She was expecting him to go out to his parents. 

He had noticed the look on her face when he said yes, and explained to her that he would rather be with her and her family than with his own. She simply acknowledged that and didn't bring it up again; if he wanted to be with her, then she wasn't going to complain.

They arrived at her parents' house the day before Christmas Eve. They spent a majority of their time sequestered in Evie's room, wrapping gifts they had bought for the family. Once they had finished, they joined her mom and dad for dinner and talking about what was going to happen over the next 72 hours. Evie had filled him in on what to expect on Christmas, as well as the extended family gathering on Boxing Day.

After her parents had gone to bed, Evie remained in the family room with the lights off and the Christmas tree lit up. She had changed into a pair of pajamas and was curled up on the sofa with an afghan. Hunter had disappeared upstairs, presumably to change into something more comfortable. She simply sat there and enjoyed the soft glow of the fairy lights on the Christmas tree.

Hunter padded back downstairs, now clad in a pair of track pants and a t-shirt. He wandered into the kitchen and took a bottle of water from the fridge and walked into the family room. The back of the couch was to the door and he saw Evie sitting there with all the lights off except for the ones from the tree.

"You know that's bad for your eyes," he said softly.

She jumped at the sound of his voice.

He came around to the side of the sofa. She had an afghan wrapped around her legs. "Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you."

She grinned as she patted the cushion of the deep sofa. "Come sit next to me."

Hunter sat down and draped an arm across the back of the sofa. "So you're just sitting here, staring at the tree?" he asked.

"As a kid I'd sit in front of the tree for hours, just looking at it." She shrugged her shoulders. "It always gives me a sense of home; not to mention that it looks so pretty lit up like this."

He shook his head in amusement. "You were a strange little kid, weren't you?" he asked. "First a hat and now the Christmas tree."

Evie laughed quietly. "I suppose I was. Tom and Lauren would always make fun of me because I'd just stare at the tree. They'd take bets as to how long I'd sit there."

Hunter smiled. "Your weirdness aside, I think this is the first time in a long time that I'm actually going to enjoy a Christmas," he stated.

That intrigued her. "Why do you say that? Is Christmas a bad thing with your family?"

"Not so much my sister and her family, but my parents…" he trailed off and paused. "Yeah, with them it can be a bit much."

"How so?" Evie asked him.

Hunter shifted on the sofa so that he was facing her. "They're always so formal with everything. It's all so organized to the point that it gets boring. There's no spontaneity because they're so set in the way things are supposed to be." He looked at her. "There's no warmth to it, or them for that matter. That's why I like your family. They like me and make me feel welcome, even though I'm not related."

"Too bad we can't say the same about your parents," Evie stated. "Not that I'm being mean, but…"

Hunter shook his head. "No, you're right. They didn't make you feel welcome." His thoughts wandered back to when he had taken Evie home to meet his family. Neither of them had been too pleased with his choice, but his mother had been more vocal about it. She did not go out of her way to make Evie feel welcome at all. The only family member that had taken a liking to Evie had been his younger sister.

He chuckled as he remembered the look on his mother's face when Evie had told her what her father did for a living. "My mother can't understand why I've taken up with a plumber's daughter." His tone changed as he mocked his mother's voice. "There are so many acceptable young women in our circle of friends, Hunter. You'd be better off with one of them; a woman of good manners and breeding."

Evie made a face. "As if being a plumber's daughter is something to be ashamed of? I mean, my dad owns his own business. He's run it for almost 40 years, taken care of his family, provided for them and put food on the table. He always took an interest in us and went out of his way to spend time with us…"

"Well, I'm not ashamed of you," Hunter picked up. "And neither is your family, so who cares what my parents think?"

She snuggled up to his side and his arm came around her shoulders. "I would hope you weren't ashamed of me Helmsley. Otherwise, I'd be kicking your ass all over the place."

He chuckled. "Nah, I like you. I think I'll keep you," he said as his arm wrapped around her tighter.

"You like me for my family," Evie joked as she gently prodded him in the side with a finger. "C'mon, 'fess up to it."

"Hey, I liked you before I even met your family, so don't start pulling that crap with me, woman," he replied as he jerked away from her finger.

Evie leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "Oh, you're such a tough guy, aren't you?" she murmured in his ear.

In response, his mouth met hers and he felt her melt against him. Her tongue and lips moved in time with his as the kiss intensified and her fingers curled into his hair, pulling him closer. His hands splayed against her back as he lowered her to the cushions.

She broke the kiss and looked up at him. "What are you doing?" she asked with a hint of amusement.

Hunter smiled down at her. "Well, I figured since we won't be sharing a bed for next few nights, I might as well take advantage of what I've got right here."

"In my parents' house? I feel like I'm in high school again," she joked.

"The couch is big enough for the two of us," Hunter said as he moved to cover her body with his own.

She laughed softly as she felt his weight pushing her down into the deep cushions. "I don't think you want to get busted by my dad, do you?" she asked.

Hunter rolled his eyes. "Thanks; that really ruined the mood there, Evie," he said as he shifted so that he was lying on his side with his back to the back of the sofa and facing her.

Her hand caressed his cheek, feeling the roughness of his beard growing back in. "You didn't shave today."

"It's my vacation; I don't have to shave," he protested. "Besides, I know you like the feel of my beard on your skin. Especially in certain spots," he stated intimately. A faint color stained her cheeks and he chuckled. "Nice to know I can still make you blush."

"You can make me do a lot of things," she whispered meaningfully.

A mischievous smile appeared on his lips. "Yes, I can; I can make you squeak."

She raised an eyebrow. "Is that so, Bunny?" she asked, rising to the challenge.

He held her gaze for a few more seconds before laughter started to rumble in his chest. Her mouth twitched into a grin as she watched his face contort in amusement.

Hunter pulled her as close as he could. "I love you," he stated with humor.

"I know," she replied simply. Her fingers traced his lips as he fell silent. Carefully, she leaned in and kissed him gently.

* * *

Christmas passed and Hunter survived yet another holiday with the extended Mackenzie clan. Evie jokingly told him that after a few more, he'd be a veteran. Truthfully, Hunter had enjoyed spending the time with both her immediate as well as her extended family. He told Evie that he was looking forward to next Christmas. 

Once the holidays were finished, it was back to work. That Monday, Shawn faced Hunter for the World Heavyweight Championship and Booker T faced Randy for the Intercontinental Championship. Things were a bit tense backstage for some people as the board was meeting that very evening to decide Stone Cold Steve Austin's role in the company. Eric Bischoff was especially nervous regarding that decision. He had tolerated Austin when the man was co-GM and was praying that the board would not reinstate him to any position on RAW.

As the show progressed, Vince McMahon argued the fact that there was simply no place for Austin in the company anymore. He stated that Austin did big things for the WWE, but you cannot live in the past. What was best for the fans and everyone concerned was that Austin not return to the company.

Austin showed up in the parking lot of the arena in his pick up truck, waiting to hear from the board of directors. He sat there calmly, drinking beer and watching his cell phone.

Meanwhile, Randy retained his title with a victory over Booker T; much to the great delight of both Randy Orton and Evolution. He returned to the locker room with a smugly triumphant grin on his face.

Hunter grumbled as the monitor showed a second clip of Shawn beating him for the WWE Championship at Survivor Series in 2003. He was looking forward to his match with Shawn so he could exact a little payback for that fiasco of a match two weeks ago. That it was a title match, just further fueled his determination to beat Shawn into the canvas.

Once more the monitor showed Titan Towers, where Linda McMahon had just argued on Austin's behalf. She stated that the WWE listens to its fans, and the fans had spoken. Jonathan Coachman asked if this had to do with her vendetta against Eric Bischoff. She replied that Austin would be there to balance the power of Eric, who did things without any rhyme or reason.

Silently, Evie agreed with Linda. She'd had her run-ins with the General Manager and they had left her with quite distaste for the man. She continued watching the show as Hunter changed for his match and then he and Ric disappeared, leaving her with Batista and Randy.

Batista sat at the other end of the sofa, watching the monitor. Randy was in the bathroom, primping in front of the mirror. Evie rolled her eyes as the six women came out for a Happy Holidays Match. Lita, Trish and Stacy were pitted against Molly Holly, Miss Jackie and Victoria. All the women were in holiday lingerie. Evie noted a vocal reaction from Batista when Lita had come strutting out in the most revealing outfit of the six women. She suppressed a grin and refrained from making any observation. Chances were he hadn't realized he'd even made a noise. The match was short and ended with Trish pinning Victoria for the win.

The monitor switched to the parking lot. Austin had gotten the phone call he'd been waiting for. The board voted him back on RAW as the co-GM. Austin grew livid, and claimed that wasn't what he wanted. He told them to take their job and shove it before he drove off.

"One less thing to worry about," Batista commented as he draped an arm across the back of the sofa.

"I take it you didn't like Austin either," Evie stated as she looked at him.

Batista shrugged. "I didn't care for him much." He grinned. "But he sure as hell could get under Hunter's skin."

Evie laughed in response. "Who couldn't get under his skin?"

Randy came out, mumbled something to Batista about talking to Bischoff and left the room.

Batista shook his head. "Like he's going to talk to Bischoff. More like he's going to see who he can maneuver into his hotel room tonight."

Evie said nothing. Batista knew she didn't care for Randy. Not that he blamed her. The guy treated her with minimum respect because of Hunter.

They both turned their attention to the monitor as Hunter and Shawn's match started. The crowd was roaring their appreciation and Shawn made his entrance. The fact that they were in San Antonio made this all the more exciting for him. With the hometown crowd behind him, Shawn was on fire during the first half of the match. He dished out what Hunter gave him and then some. He countered everything Hunter threw at him.

Finally, Hunter managed to throw Shawn over the top turnbuckle to the outside. Shawn fought his way back into the ring, but Hunter had control. Apparently Shawn had hurt his back when he landed outside the ring, and Hunter made sure to take advantage of that by pummeling his back with closed fists. The two men ended up outside the ring again and Hunter tossed Shawn into the steel ring steps. He rolled Shawn back into the ring and tried to pin him, but only got a two count.

The two men went back and forth for a while, with Hunter continuing to work Shawn's back over. Once again, Hunter managed to toss Shawn out of the ring. Shawn fought his way back up and climbed to the top turnbuckle, but he got kicked in the gut on the way down. Hunter's Pedigree was reversed into a back body drop and both men were down. The ref started counting to ten, but both managed to get to their feet. Shawn hit a spine buster on Hunter and literally fell into Hunter's crotch head first.

In the locker room, Batista sucked in a breath and cringed in reaction to what had just happened. He glanced at Evie. "Looks like your night might be ruined," he said with a little amusement.

Evie flipped him off in response without taking her attention from the match. He simply chuckled and turned his attention back to the monitor.

Somewhere along the way, the ref is knocked down hard by Hunter and Shawn attempted some Sweet Chin Music, but it was blocked into a DDT. Hunter decked Shawn with the title belt, but the count was too slow and Shawn managed to get a shoulder up. Shawn reversed a Pedigree into an attempted Boston Crab, but Hunter kicked him back into the ref.

Bischoff ran down to revive the ref as a steel turnbuckle is exposed. Shawn reverses Hunter into it headfirst. Shawn falls on top of Hunter, but the ref was still out. Bischoff gets in the ring and slowly counts, but Hunter managed to get his shoulder up. Shawn backed Hunter up into the corner and delivered ten punches. Another near fall was counted but Hunter kicked out in time.

Hunter got enough momentum to go to the second rope, but ate a boot from Shawn. Hunter tried an Irish whip but Shawn moved enough to kill the inertia of the blow. When Hunter charged Shawn again, he took another boot to the face from Shawn. Shawn fell on top of Hunter and this time Bischoff counted one, two and three.

But after the match, Bischoff declared Hunter the winner, stating that both men had their shoulders down, so the champion retained his title. By this time, Ric had climbed into the ring to assist Hunter up. Shawn got more than a little pissed at Bischoff's announcement and attacked both Bischoff and Ric.

Bischoff managed to recover and he retreated along with Ric and Hunter. The scene faded as Shawn leaned over the top rope shouting at Bischoff; his face contorted in anger.

"Shit," Evie muttered as she stood up.

"What?" Batista asked.

She looked over at him. "Shawn is definitely going to be gunning for Hunter now…" she trailed off.

Batista nodded. "True, but it's not like he can't handle it."

"Yeah, but I'm never going to hear the end of it," Evie stated as she started gathering things up. "This is not going to be pretty," she said as she zipped up the bag for her laptop.

Ric and Hunter burst into the locker room with Randy trailing behind them. Hunter sat down heavily on the sofa, clutching his title in one hand and a bottle of water in the other.

"I have to say one thing for Bischoff," Ric said, "He made the right decision when he made you the winner, champ." His hand fell on Hunter's shoulder.

Hunter nodded in response, still trying to catch his breath. "And that's going set things up for a rematch. And I'll prove to Shawn again exactly who the champion is around here. I've beat everyone that's been put in my path and I can do it again." He heaved himself off the sofa and tottered into the bathroom to change.

Ric grabbed another shirt from his bag and quickly changed into it. The one he had been wearing had been torn by Shawn. "I'll tell you one thing, Shawn Michaels will definitely get what's coming to him," he said to no one in particular.

The following week, Eric Bischoff set up a Last Man Standing for the Royal Rumble between Hunter and Shawn.

Hunter stood in the ring with Bischoff. "Bischoff, I have beaten everyone that's been put in my path and I can do it again. The issue with Shawn is a done issue and I've proven that I am the greatest."

At that point, Shawn made his way out to the ring. He climbed in, took the mic from Hunter and raised it to his mouth. "I want to see you prove you are the greatest one more time, Hunter." He looked around at the crowd. "I want to see you prove it to all the fans, that you are indeed, the greatest." He moved so that he was standing eye to eye with Hunter.

Bischoff quickly announced the match for the Royal Rumble as the two men stared one another down. Finally Shawn backed away, but before he could get too far, Hunter seized the opportunity and quickly Pedigreed Shawn and then posed over him in victory.

In an interview with the Coach the week after that, Hunter and Shawn got down to the real reasons behind their feud.

"You know Shawn, as much fun as we had in the past, you were always holding me down," Hunter stated. "It was always about you. It was always about you getting that title, or all the attention of the fans. You were always the one on top and I was the one holding you up."

Hunter continued. "My success while you were out with your back ate at you, didn't it Shawn? It's jealously, plain and simple. Now I am the one with the gold; I'm the one on top of the mountain and it just eats away at you."

"In the history of this sport, Shawn, there are only one or two that were as good as Shawn Michaels, but as good as you are, I am just that much better," he concluded.

Shawn smirked at his opponent. "As good as you are Hunter, the Last Man Standing match may come down to one second, but it will be enough to determine who the better man was."

Shawn adjusted his position, watching Hunter move warily out of the way. "In reality, it's here one second-" he moved swiftly and delivered a super kick to Coach, "the next, it's gone." He stepped back, keeping his eye on Hunter. "I'll see you at the Royal Rumble."

Hunter waited until Shawn had disappeared behind the curtain before leaving the ring. He pushed through the curtain and immediately received a blow to the midsection and was then shoved to the floor. Shawn wasted no time and began kicking the champion while he was down. Hunter groaned in protest as Shawn's foot connected with his stomach. He clutched his stomach and tried not to vomit. Shawn pulled him up by the front of the shirt and then delivered a right hook to Hunter's face. He continued to pummel the World Heavyweight champion. Hunter managed to lad a few blows before he felt some of the trainers breaking up the scuffle. They pried the two men apart and Shawn struggled to get one last blow in, but gave up as they dragged him farther away from Hunter.

Hunter staggered a bit and two of the trainers helped him back to Evolution's locker room. As they pushed the door open, Ric let out a curse and rushed over to help Hunter to the sofa. Hunter pushed the trainers away when they tried to check him, stating that he was all right.

Once they had left, Ric spoke up. "What the hell happened champ? Who did this?"

Hunter rolled his eyes. "Who the hell do you think it was, Ric?" he demanded.

"Damn that Shawn Michaels!" Ric exclaimed. It took all of two seconds for him to work himself into an agitated state. He tapped Batista and Randy on the shoulder. "Let's go find him and remind him who he's messing with!"

"Ric!" Hunter shouted, but Ric wasn't listening. "Ric!" he bellowed before Ric could open the door.

Ric paused and turned around. "What? We're gonna go teach HBK a lesson he'll never forget!"

"Drop it Ric," Hunter stated. He shakily sat up on the sofa. "He'll be expecting it."

"But champ-" Ric protested.

"I said drop it," Hunter stated a bit more forcefully. "There will be plenty of opportunities later."

Ric held his hands up in surrender. "Okay H, okay. We'll let it go. For now."

Hunter looked around the room and noticed that Evie was missing. "Where's Evie?" he asked.

Batista shrugged. "She had a phone call and stepped out for some privacy."

"How long ago was that?" Hunter asked him. If Evie was still out in the arena, there was every possibility that Shawn might attack her as well, just to get under Hunter's skin a little more.

"I don't know. Maybe about fifteen minutes ago." He caught the look on Hunter's face. "I wouldn't worry, man. She's capable of taking care of herself."

Hunter thrust a finger at Batista. "Go find her; now," he commanded.

Batista slipped out the door in search of Hunter's errant personal assistant. He headed towards catering. Evie usually would walk there during the course of the evening to pick up a bottle of water or juice. Before he had even gotten to the end of the hallway, he saw her coming towards him. Sure enough, she had a bottle of water in one hand and her cell phone in the other. He raised a hand to get her attention. She met him halfway down the hall.

"What's up?" she asked brightly.

One of his eyebrows shot up. "Your boss is concerned about your well-being," he replied dryly.

"Why would he be concerned? He knows nothing's going to happen to me," Evie said in an exasperated tone.

Batista took her arm and steered her back towards the locker room. "Shawn jumped Hunter backstage after their interview. Hunter wants to make sure you're not going to be the next target."

Evie allowed him to guide her down the hall. "Is Hunter okay?" she asked quietly.

"A little bruised, but, yeah, he's okay," Batista replied.

They entered the room and found the other three members waiting. Evie noted the expression on Hunter's face and steeled herself for his tirade. Surprisingly enough, he didn't bring her absence up. He simply said that they should be on their way out of the arena before anything else occurred.

Once they were back in their hotel room, Hunter disappeared to fill the ice bucket. When he returned, Evie was on the phone with someone. He put the ice bucket down and grabbed a towel from the bathroom. He half-listened and watched as Evie continued her conversation. Quickly he prepared an ice compress and held it up to the cheek that Shawn had landed the right hook on.

When Evie glanced at him, he mouthed "Who is it?" at her. She shook her head indicating that she didn't want to be interrupted. Hunter waited for her to finish.

"Well, I'll look into flights and see what I can get for tomorrow or Wednesday." Evie paused as she listened to the person. "Yes, as soon as I find out, I'll let you know. Thanks Linda," she said and then disconnected the call.

Hunter spoke up again. "What's going on?"

"Linda wants me to fly out to Stamford as soon as possible. She said she has something to discuss with me," Evie replied.

"Any idea what it is?" Hunter asked as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

Evie shrugged. "She wouldn't tell me over the phone. She just said that it's important that I come out there and talk with her about this; whatever 'this' is," she responded as she set her phone down on the bedside table. She looked at him. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he said gruffly. "Nothing broken, but a hell of a lot will be bruised by morning." His hand brushed across his stomach. "Good thing I didn't eat before going out to the ring."

"He hit you in the stomach?" Evie asked.

Hunter nodded. "And then he kicked me in the stomach when I was down." He adjusted the ice pack.

Evie noticed and motioned for him to move it. When he did, she gasped involuntarily at the reddened flesh. "That's going to be one hell of a bruise too," she commented.

"Don't remind me," Hunter stated sarcastically.

"What happened?" she asked.

Hunter filled her in on what had transpired in the ring as well as backstage. Her anger at Shawn grew as Hunter recounted the story for her. It seemed Shawn was still out to prove something to Hunter. She wouldn't be surprised if Shawn approached her about Hunter again in the near future.

She spoke up when he was finished. "You know, you really need to beat his ass into that canvas at the Royal Rumble. I'm getting real tired of this shit."

Hunter managed a weak smile. "_You're_ getting tired of it?" That got a laugh out of her. "This time, I'm going to make sure he doesn't walk out of that damn ring."

She positioned herself between his legs and leaned down. "That's my man," she whispered before giving him a gentle kiss. "Kick his ass," she said softly as she pulled back.

Hunter grinned at her as he dropped the ice pack onto the bed. "Oh don't worry, I will," he stated before pulling her down on top of him.

**

* * *

**

**A/N: I know. I know. Finally! After 2 months it showed up! Woooo! Anyway, just putting in a bit more on the Evie/Hunter relationship. A little playfulness, a little seriousness. Also trying to hustle the plot along a bit quicker as well without losing too much. That's where I was having the writers block. This is where reality takes a hike (in Austin's situation). The situation with Shawn losing the title will come back to haunt Bischoff and Hunter down the line.**

**Just a reminder (because someone asked me if I was writing actual character or real life) that this is in WWE character. That is why Hunter's parents reacted the way they did towards Evie. I am basing them on Hunter's character when he first came to WWE; the arrogant blueblood thing. I know that his actual parents are not like that, from what I've read about them. Just keep in mind, that those people are not based on his real life parents.**

**Hope you liked it. Hope it was worth the wait. If not, I'm sure you'll let me know. Don't be afraid to criticize the writing. Please. But don't be a complete wanker about it either. Constructive criticism gets a much better response than flames. Again, anything out of whack, let me know. My proof reader (or beta) has moved out of state for a new job and hasn't the time to check things over for me at this point.**

**By the way, I revised (yes, again!) the ending to ATR. I finally managed to come up with something better than what I had there before. And before anyone points it out, yes, I do know there's some punctuation missing. For some reason, when I edited the chapter, including the punctuation, and downloaded it to replace what I had up, the punctuation vanished in some spots. If any one knows how to rectify it, please email me and let me know.**


	5. The Offer and the Decision

**Chapter 4**

Evie arrived at Titan Towers late Wednesday morning and headed up to Linda McMahon's office. The receptionist smiled when she saw Evie come through the office door.

"Go on in Evie. They're waiting for you," said Sherri as Evie approached the desk.

Evie stopped in mid stride. "They? I thought I was only meeting with Linda." She wondered who else was waiting for her. A thought on "they" may be emerged, but she swiftly dismissed it, not wanting to consider the possibility.

Sherri shrugged to indicate she didn't know what was going on any more than Evie did. Evie shook her head, wondering who the other person or persons might be. She waved at Sherri and walked into Linda's office.

Linda stood up when she saw Evie enter. "Hello Evie. I'm glad you were able to make it on such short notice," she said as she held her hand out.

Evie smiled and shook Linda's hand. "It wasn't too much of a problem." She glanced over at the person seated in the other chair and was pleasantly surprised. She had been expecting Vince McMahon or some of the members from the board of directors. "Hello Mick."

Mick Foley stood up and offered his hand as well. "Hi Evie."

They shook hands and Linda gestured for both of them to sit down. Her eyes focused on Evie. "I'm sure you've been wondering why I asked you to come all the way out here."

"Something like that. I didn't know if I should be worried or not," Evie replied.

Linda smiled slightly. "Well, you're not in any sort of trouble. In fact, I've heard nothing but good things from Hunter." The tiny smile turned into a knowing one.

A faint blush stained Evie's cheeks. "How nice," she murmured.

"However, the reason why I asked you to come, is because both Mick and myself want to talk with you about a more serious matter," Linda finished.

Evie glanced over at Mick as he spoke up. "You know what's been going on between me and Bischoff, as well as me and Randy Orton." As Evie nodded in response, Mick continued. "Well, I've been doing a lot of thinking during my absence and I decided that I can't continue as the RAW co-general manager. So, Linda and I decided to elect a temporary co-GM." He turned his gaze to Linda.

"This is only until either Steve Austin returns or we select someone else to fill the position on a permanent basis," Linda stated.

Evie became a little uneasy. She knew what they were going to ask her. Wanting to get it over with, she brought it up herself. "And you want me to take the position?" she asked.

"Well, after a lot of deliberation and the fact that Mick and I have gone through the RAW roster discarding one person after another-" Linda started.

Evie gently cut her off. "I don't mean to be rude Linda, but could you get to the point?"

Linda grinned. "I'm sorry. I forgot you prefer the direct approach." She sat back in her chair. "Yes, we would like you to be the interim co-GM," she stated carefully.

Evie's eyes glanced from Linda to Mick and back again. "Why me?" she questioned.

Mick spoke two words. "Chair shots."

A soft laugh escaped from Evie. She knew he was referring to the Last-Man-Standing/Hardcore match she'd had in March of last year against Jericho. Shawn Michaels had interfered, helping her to win the match after she whacked Jericho with a chair. Immediately following, Hunter had come out and confronted Shawn. Evie took down Shawn with the same steel chair and then when Hunter fired her, took him out as well. Bischoff had come out to the ring demanding to know what the hell was going on and Evie hit him in the stomach with the chair; a little payback for the altercation in his office a week prior to the match when she broke his finger after he made advances towards her.

"Besides the fact that I can take care of myself around Bischoff," she said with amusement.

Linda chuckled. "That's one of the reasons. You're not afraid to stand up to him. You've seen how he operates. We need someone who's going to balance the equation, and you've been around long enough to get a solid grasp on how things work."

Mick leaned forward in his chair. "You don't take crap from anyone. You showed us and the rest of the world that when you took out four men, all bigger than you I might add, with a steel chair. You walked into that ring and took on Jericho, HBK, Triple H and Bischoff, and _walked out_ of that ring."

"What about Christian?" Evie asked innocently.

"Christian doesn't count as a man; just as a creepy little bastard," Mick said with sarcasm, managing to get a wry grin from Evie. "The fact is, Evie, you've got- pardon the expression, you've got balls."

Evie's smile faded and she sighed in exasperation. She had the feeling that neither Mick nor Linda were going to make it easy for her to say no. "And I suppose that there's nothing in my contract that gets me out of this?" she asked half-jokingly.

Linda looked almost apologetic. "I'm afraid not." When Evie shook her head, Linda spoke again. "You're not required to take the position. You can refuse. We want someone who has a backbone and won't give in to certain people."

"Meaning Evolution," Evie stated matter-of-factly.

Mick gave her a half-smile. "We're not going to tell you how to do your job. You're gonna have to make that decision on your own."

"And what makes you think that they won't expect me to cater to their demands?" she asked sharply.

Mick answered her. "If you choose to grant any special stipulations, then that's up to you. Use your judgment, but if you choose not to favor them, make sure to lay down the law before any of that comes up."

"Evie, the fact is, there isn't anyone else on that roster we feel is up to the job," Linda interjected. "You handle yourself well in tight situations; you don't go back on your word. You get right to the point with things and you show quite a bit of determination when dealing with… certain superstars," she stated with a small grin and Evie knew who she was referring to. "We need someone who is going to be direct and honest to oppose Bischoff."

Mick looked directly at Evie. "Basically, what Linda's saying is that we need someone to knock Eric off his high horse. Austin kept him on his toes, but now that Austin's gone…" he trailed off.

"What happens if I tell you both no?" Evie asked Linda.

Linda stood up and stepped around to the front of her desk. "It won't affect the job you have now. We can't _make_ you do this, and I'm not so petty that I would make keeping your current job a condition." She leaned back against the desk and smiled. "I'm not Vince."

Mick laughed. "Thank God for that," he quipped.

Evie chuckled as well and then fell silent. She hated being put into situations like this. It seemed that both Linda and Mick thought highly enough of her to offer her the position, and that spoke volumes about their faith in her abilities.

If she did take the position, it would possibly- no- probably was more like it- cause a lot of tension between her and the members of Evolution as well as the rest of the wrestlers. But as Mick had said, it was better to lay down the law first.

She sat back in her chair and sighed softly. It didn't seem like they were giving her much of a choice. _But it's only on a temporary basis_, she reminded herself.

Evie spoke up. "How soon would you have to know?"

"Well," Linda began, "Mick would like to step down as soon as possible. We'd like to know by the end of the week at the latest."

Evie cocked her head to one side, regarding Linda with a sharp gaze. "That doesn't give me a lot of time to decide."

"I realize that Evie, and I'm sorry. Mick expressed that he wanted to get this taken care of on RAW this coming Monday," Linda replied.

"We know it's all of a sudden for you, but like Linda said, there's no one we'd trust more than you," Mick stated.

Evie gave a half-hearted laugh. "You're not making this easy, are you?"

"Decisions are never easy," Mick said softly.

"Well, let me think about it and I'll give you my answer on Friday," Evie said as she stood up. Her mind immediately started working on anything she would want to add into the contract if she said yes to their proposition. "If I do take the job, I will be making some non-negotiable specifications in my contract."

Linda chuckled as she straightened up. "Like I said, you seem to have an excellent grasp on how things work in this company." She shrugged casually and Mick stood up as well. "That seems fair enough. And by the way, we would like you to keep this quiet, at least until Monday night."

Evie shot her a perceptive glance. "Meaning no one knows at all?"

"We would prefer it, but I know that Hunter is going to be asking questions about this visit. If you do speak about it to him, please let him know that secrecy is important," Linda said as she moved towards the door and opened it.

"I'll make sure he knows to keep his mouth shut," Evie responded. "I'll be in touch." She smiled at Mick, nodded at Linda and walked out the door.

Linda closed it behind her and turned to Mick. "What do you think?"

Mick was silent for a couple minutes, going over the things that had just been discussed. While Evie had shown him that she did have a backbone by getting in the ring more than once with Jericho, he had a few doubts. Those mainly pertained to her relationship with Triple H and Evolution, and how the rest of the superstars were going to react to that factor in her new position, if she took it.

"Why do I get the feeling we just might be releasing a lamb to the wolves?" Mick finally asked.

"Don't underestimate her. She can be just as stubborn as anyone else, and then some," Linda said with feeling.

Mick was quiet for another minute as he contemplated something else, and then, "I think Triple H is going to be extremely interested in what he'll be able to get out of this whole deal. Evie is definitely going to have her hands full with this; _if _she decides to take the job," he said quietly.

"You might be right on that Mick, but I have a feeling Evie will keep Hunter in line," Linda said and then grinned. "In fact, I think she just may be keeping Bischoff in line as well."

* * *

Evie dropped her bag on the laundry room floor and closed the door to the garage. Using her foot, she pushed the overnight bag across the laundry room floor and into the kitchen. She was too tired to pick it up and carry it. Her flight had been cancelled due to an engine problem, so she'd had to go through all the hassle of finding another flight to New Hampshire and then making it back to Hunter's house. He had stayed on for a house show while she was at Titan Towers and was supposed to fly home afterward. The light was on over the stove, but the rest of the kitchen was dark, which meant that Hunter was home and he was either watching old wrestling tapes, or he was in bed. 

After switching off the light, she shoved the bag into the short hallway that lead to the living area and didn't see the bluish white flicker of the television. _Must be in bed_, she thought. Leaning over with a sigh, she picked up the bag and slung it over her shoulder. As she slowly made her way up the stairs, she went over, for what felt like the millionth time, what Mick and Linda had talked about. As much confidence as they seemed to have in her, she didn't feel she was every bit the person they saw her as.

She debated on whether or not she wanted to take the job. Linda had said it wasn't permanent. The question was did she want all the hassle that went along with it? Did she really want to put up with all the insinuations that were bound to happen? All the complaints? All the stress? And then there was Evolution and Hunter. She knew without a doubt that Ric Flair would be all set to take advantage of her temporary position. He'd probably expect her to allow them all sorts of freedom that they wouldn't get with Bischoff.

"Not on my watch," she growled quietly and then shook her head. "What the hell am I talking about? I haven't even made up my mind yet."

She reached the top of the stairs and walked towards Hunter's bedroom. Gently she pushed the door open and found all the lights off except the one on her side of the bed. A huge form covered by a sheet, lay on the other side. She smiled as she quietly put her bag down and started removing her clothes. Tossing them onto a chair, she slipped into the adjoining bathroom, took care of business and returned to the bedroom.

After turning out the light, she pulled the sheet back and slid into bed. Instinctively, she nestled up to Hunter's broad back, delighting in the feel of his warm skin and the smell of soap. As her cheek touched him between his shoulder blades, he stirred.

"Evie?" he asked sleepily.

She giggled. "No, it's your fairy godmother."

A large hand reached around and grabbed her thigh. "Sure doesn't feel like a wrinkled old woman," he said with drowsy amusement.

"Wrinkled old woman?" She sat up and leaned over him. "Wrinkled old woman?" she repeated.

"Well, you must be old, because it sounds like your hearing is bad," Hunter quipped as he half rolled over to look at her, a playful smile on his face.

She pinched his backside and he yelped. "Why don't you feel again?" she asked him.

"Look old lady, you better cut that out before my woman comes home and finds you in my bed," he replied in a mock stern voice.

Evie spluttered at that remark and proceeded to roll him over so she could pummel him. Hunter laughed and caught her hands before the first blow fell. He moved so that she was pinned under him, her hands above her head. She stuck her tongue out at him and he promptly caught it between his lips.

He kissed her deeply as he released her hands. Evie cradled his head in her hands as she responded with fervor. He broke the kiss and looked down at her. She sighed with pleasure and a hand smoothed the hair back from his face.

"I guess you missed me," she said huskily.

Hunter smiled. "I guess I did." He pulled away from her and lay on his back. "So what was the deal with Linda?"

She rested her head on his chest and draped an arm over his stomach. "I'm not supposed to talk about it," she replied.

"Is it that bad?" he asked quietly.

Evie sighed as she sorted her thoughts. "Well, from a certain point of view, it could be bad. But from another, it could be good for some people."

He looked down at the top of her head. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well," she said, "it's exactly what it means."

Hunter turned the light on and sat up, causing Evie to sit up as well. "Okay, you're talking in riddles here. Can you, or can you not, tell me what is going on?"

"If I tell you, it goes no farther than this room. No one else can know about it," she said solemnly as she pulled the sheet up over her breasts. "And that means the rest of Evolution too."

"All right," Hunter said, "you have my word."

In the next ten minutes, Evie told him what had taken place in Linda's office. As she explained everything, Hunter grew more and more interested.

"So, that's why no one else can know," she finished.

Hunter remained quiet, but the wheels were turning in his head. This had been completely unexpected. A thousand little plans began forming and hatching in his mind, but they were interrupted by Evie tugging gently on his arm.

"So what are you going to do?" Hunter asked carefully.

Evie shrugged. "I don't know. Part of me wants to take it just to stick it to Bischoff, and part of me doesn't want to put up with all the crap I know is going to come up."

"It is only temporary," Hunter reminded her. "It's not like you're going to be a co-GM for the rest of your life." He thought about something. "If you do take it, you can always have a clause written in that you can step down at any time."

She nodded. "I had thought about that and a million other things." She turned her face to his. "_If_ I do take the position, I won't be doing it to give either you or Evolution any advantages. In fact, none of you should expect any because it's not going to happen."

Hunter saw the determination in her eyes and knew that she wouldn't back down from _that_ decision, but he could work around that. "Fair enough," he replied, careful to keep a neutral expression on his face.

"I mean what I said about you and Evolution." She gave him an expression that meant business. "And no tricks or games either. I don't put up with your crap now. Don't think it's going to be any different if I take the job," she stated firmly as she shook a finger at him.

"I know," Hunter replied quietly and then a half-grin appeared. "If you do take it, can you see Eric's reaction?"

Evie chuckled. "It would almost be worth it just to see the look on his face." She cocked her head slightly to one side. "So what do you think?"

Hunter gauged his response carefully. He didn't want her to think he was pushing her into something she was reluctant to do, or manipulating her, for that matter. He knew she didn't take to kindly to that, having gone through it with both him and Shawn last year. True, it would be worth it to give Bischoff a difficult time, but there were other things to consider.

"You know this might affect our relationship," he stated calmly.

She met his gaze. "Business is business, as you always tell me," she stated with a little smile. "And it can only affect it if we let it."

"You'll be recognized a whole hell of a lot more too," Hunter continued. "Do you know how many stories I've heard of Bischoff getting things thrown at him by fans?"

The smile remained on Evie's face. "I'm not worried about the fans. I'm more concerned with the actual job, and you didn't answer my question."

Hunter carefully framed his response in the form of a jest. "The Evie I know has never walked away from a challenge." He paused and then grinned. "I mean, look at how long you've been with me," he joked.

Her smile grew wider at his reply and then disappeared just as quickly. "I'm serious here, Hunter. What do you honestly think?"

Again, he weighed his response. "I think it's a good opportunity for you. I mean, you'll definitely be opposed, that's for sure. Not by us, but by the rest of the roster. And you know Bischoff will try his damnedest to get rid of you, or he'll try real hard to get everyone to distrust you."

A half hearted chuckled issued from Evie's mouth. "Sounds like you're trying to dissuade me more than convince me." She waved her hands in frustration. "Those thoughts had crossed my mind. I'm going to have to earn everyone's trust and show them that I'm not a pushover at the same time." Her hands dropped to her lap. "It all seems so overwhelming when I think about it. I'm not sure I can do this," she said and then realizing what she said, she hastily amended, "if I decide to do it."

Hunter caught what she had said, but chose to ignore it. It sounded as if she had already made up her mind. He smiled inwardly at that thought as he laid a hand on her sheet covered thigh. "Tell you what, why don't we talk about it in the morning. It's late and we've both had a pretty busy day."

"I suppose," she sighed in response and then looked down at his hand. "So what are you planning on doing with that?" she asked in amusement.

He grinned mischievously. "Why don't I show you," he said as he pulled the sheet down from her body, exposing her breasts.

Evie laughed as he reached over and turned off the light. Her laughter shortly turned into moans as Hunter demonstrated exactly what he had in mind.

The next morning, Hunter walked into the kitchen in his robe to find Evie drinking a glass of orange juice. He didn't recall hearing her rise, but she was gone when he had gotten up fifteen minutes ago. Glancing at the clock over the kitchen sink, he noticed it was only a few minutes after 9a.m.; early for her to be up. She usually slept until 10:30. Hunter assumed her appearance at this time of the morning had to do with Linda McMahon's proposition. He also noted that she had on her workout gear, which was also unusual at this time of day.

"How long have you been up?" he asked as he pulled the blender out of a cabinet and set it on the counter.

She smiled at him as she set the glass down on the counter. "Since 7:30." She shrugged when she saw the look of surprise on his face. "I have a lot on my mind and I couldn't go back to sleep." She watched as he pulled various items out of the refrigerator.

"Not surprising," he replied as he set everything down and began measuring liquid. "You have a lot to consider."

"I'm done considering," she stated and then finished off the remainder of the juice in her glass.

Hunter looked at her quizzically. "Really?" He hadn't even had a chance to talk it over with her.

Evie nodded and then turned to rinse the glass out. "I've taken things into consideration and I've made a decision," she replied with her back to him. She placed the glass in the dishwasher.

He came up behind her and turned her to face him. "And what did you decide?" he asked cautiously. He had the distinct impression she was going to take the job as he recalled her little slip up last night.

An enigmatic smile appeared on her mouth. "That's for me to know and you to find out," she teased.

"That's not fair," Hunter protested. "After you tell me what that meeting was about and ask my opinion, you aren't going to tell me what your decision is?"

She shook her head. "Not right now. I have a few more things I want to go over and then I'm going to call Linda and let her know first."

Hunter smiled. "So you have a rough draft of your contract written out already?"

"I don't know, do I?" she asked him vaguely. She didn't want to tell him her answer yet. As much as he kept a neutral expression, she knew he was more than interested in this whole situation. She hadn't missed the calculating look in his eyes when she had told him about her meeting with Linda and Mick. It made her glad she had mentioned that there would be no special favors for him or Evolution. Still, she knew she'd have to keep a close eye on him, having been on the receiving end of his machinations before.

Hunter turned back to the blender and continued with his food preparations. "But you _are_ going to tell me?" he questioned without looking at her.

Evie chuckled. She had to give him credit; he was persistent. "You, Mick and Linda will be the only people who will know, either way," she replied.

* * *

Hunter set his bag down in the locker room and shut the door behind him. He was the first one to arrive out of the group. It was the night of the Royal Rumble and he was feeling fairly optimistic about his chances against Shawn later. Evie had flown out to Stamford late Friday morning and was due back some time tonight. She was coming to the arena straight from the airport. 

She had finally told him that she was going to take the co-GM job that had been offered to her. He'd had the suspicion that she would. She reminded him again that there was not going to be favors granted to any of them because of this. He had nodded in response, not too concerned about that particular piece of information. He could work around it if necessary, but would have to do it subtly so as not to cause suspicion.

The rest of Evolution showed up within the next thirty minutes and clothes were changed, plans gone over and revised and entertainment decided for the evening. Batista cornered Hunter after changing into his gear. Ric had disappeared for something, accompanied by Randy.

"Hey Hunter, where's Evie?" Batista asked as he adjusted his elbow pads.

Hunter shrugged. "She's flying in later. She had something to take care of before coming out."

"Nothing serious I hope," Batista replied with a touch of concern.

"No, just some personal stuff that had to be resolved," Hunter replied casually. He glanced up at the younger man. "Why?"

"Just wondering if everything is okay. I mean, you two are pretty much joined at the hip, so it's kind of unusual to not see her around," Batista stated with a half grin.

Hunter chuckled. "Yeah, it's kind of strange not to have her around, but like I said, she'll be here later."

Thankfully, Batista accepted that and changed the subject to his tag team match with Ric that night. They were defending the titles against the Dudley Boyz in a table match.

He and Ric had just started their match when Evie arrived in Evolution's locker room.

Hunter looked up as the door opened and grinned when he saw her. "'Bout time you showed up," he said in good humor.

She rolled her eyes in response as she dropped her luggage in an out of the way corner. "Gee, things went fine. Thanks for asking," she quipped.

Hunter chuckled. "You know what I meant." He stood up and walked over to her. "So everything's cool, then?"

"Yeah. We got everything ironed out and it's all signed, sealed and delivered," Evie replied. "There was a little issue over one specification, but Linda was nice enough to let it slide."

"Which one?" he asked, intrigued. He hadn't thought that Evie's stipulations really warranted any caution on the company's part.

She looked up at him. "The part where I can step down at any time whether or not Austin comes back." She cocked her head to one side. "A couple of the board members didn't think that was very sensible, but Linda talked them into conceding."

"Was Vince there too?" Hunter questioned. He watched as she started removing her coat.

Evie nodded. "Of course; he is the owner." She shrugged her coat off and draped it over a chair. "Funny thing is, you would have thought he'd be eager to deny me the position, but he approved everything," she stated. "Of course, he told me afterwards that he was taking bets on how long I'd last." A humorless smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

Hunter shook his head. "Nice to know Vince is so supportive of his employees," he said wryly. He reached out and pulled Evie into his arms. "But he doesn't know you like I do," he whispered and then leaned down and kissed her softly.

She leaned into the kiss, savoring the sensation of his mouth against hers and his arms wrapped around her. She had missed him over the past couple of days. Even though they had spent a lot of time on the phone, she missed the feel of him lying next to her at night. She briefly pushed her tongue into his mouth to tease and shivered as she heard his quiet moan.

He broke the kiss and grinned down at her. "I missed you too," he stated in a rasping tone that didn't belie the desire he was feeling at that moment.

Evie returned the smile. "I'll show you how much I missed you if you're up to it later," she stated slyly.

Hunter laughed as he detached himself from the embrace. "I think I'll still let you show me even if I'm not up to it."

She simply turned up the smile as she pushed past him to help herself to a bottle of water.

Hunter realized he had missed the end of the tag match, but thanks to J.R. and Jerry Lawler's loud commentary, his ears picked up the fact that the titles had been retained by Ric and Batista in under six minutes.

Evie remained in the locker room for the duration of the pay-per-view. She watched the events unfold as the night progressed. Hunter, Ric, Batista and Randy quietly chatted about Hunter's upcoming title match against Shawn Michaels. All too soon, he disappeared to warm up. Evie moved from the folding chair she was sitting on to the sofa. Dave grinned as she sat down next to him. He had said hello to her when he and Ric had returned after their match.

"So, where were you?" he asked in a casually low tone.

Evie shrugged. "Oh, out and about taking care of a few things," she stated evasively.

Batista wondered what was so secret about her trip. "What? Can't talk about it?"

"Not particularly," she responded. Her eyes met his. "But you'll find out about it soon enough."

His eyes widened at that. "Is it a good or bad thing?"

Evie wore a secretive smile. "Depends. What's good for one person can be bad for another."

Batista opened his mouth to ask another question but was interrupted by the sound of Hunter's music. He snuck a quick look at Evie. She still had that smile on her face. He pondered her cryptic remark and wondered if it was something personal or work related that she was referring to. The thoughts were quickly dismissed as he turned his attention to the monitor to watch the match between Hunter and Shawn.

The two adversaries went at one another as if it were the last time they'd be able to inflict serious injuries on one another. In the following 25 minutes, they had beaten each other so badly that they both were wearing their own blood as a crimson mask.

Shawn tried his best to continue, but he was so spent that when he did try to take Hunter down, he went down as well. He started tuning up the band for Sweet Chin Music, but when he went to deliver it, Hunter dropped to his knees and punched Shawn right in the crotch. When that didn't do the trick, Hunter nailed Shawn with a Pedigree. The ref counted to nine before Shawn managed to get to his feet. Frustrated, Hunter walked right into a superkick and both men went down.

The ref started counting, but both men were barely stirring. By the time the ref got to six, Shawn finally started to attempt to get up. He grabbed the ropes, trying to pull himself up but collapsed again. The ref reached ten, counting out both men and calling it a draw. Hunter retained his title.

Evie's eyes were wide with apprehension at Hunter's condition. She knew that the two men hated each other, but the bloodstains that decorated their faces and the canvas showed her how serious they both were in their attempts to prove themselves the better man.

She watched with a trace of horror as the EMT's made their way out to the ring to check on the two men. She jumped at the touch of Batista's hand on her arm and glanced up at him.

"We're going out there. If he has to go to the hospital, I'll take you since I'm done for the night," he stated in that gruff voice. "Wait here."

Evie nodded and watched as they disappeared out of the room. She pulled herself together and quickly gathered up Hunter's things and piled them by the door. With some foresight, she phoned the limo driver and had him take the bags out to the car. Shortly after he left, Batista came back in.

"They're taking him in for x-rays and stitches. He's pretty banged up," he told her. "Let's go."

Mutely she pulled on her coat and grabbed her purse, following Batista out to the limo. Randy stayed behind as he was an entrant in the Royal Rumble. Ric stayed with him to make sure things went fine.

Three hours later, Evie and Batista were helping Hunter into the hotel room. He was wearing a lot of bandages and quite a few stitches. Nothing had been broken, but there would be a lot of bruising showing up in the next 24-48 hours. The on duty doctor had told her that Hunter would need to rest as much as possible over the next few days. He strongly vetoed any wrestling as he handed Evie the bottle of painkillers.

They got Hunter situated in the bed. He didn't stir as Evie pulled the blanket up over him. With that done, Evie walked Batista to the door.

As she opened it for him, she looked up at him. "Thanks for all your help tonight, Dave."

"You're welcome." He shot a glance at Hunter's prone form and then returned Evie's gaze. "Sorry your night's ruined," he said with a hint of amusement.

Evie chuckled as she lightheartedly smacked him. "_Your_ night's going to be ruined if you don't shut up."

"Already was," he joked and then gave her a sly look. "Unless you wanna come back to my room with me."

"You're lucky Hunter's incapacitated. Otherwise you'd be in big trouble, buster."

"Maybe I'd _get_ lucky if he was still in the hospital," Batista shot back.

The chuckle turned into laughter as she herded him out the door. He laughed as well while she pushed him out into the hallway. His words had produced what he intended and he was glad to hear her express amusement. At the hospital, he had tried to keep her from pacing and worrying, but she was too preoccupied with Hunter's condition to listen to him.

"I'll see you in the morning," he said, looking at her over his shoulder.

She leaned against the door. "Sure thing."

Once he had turned the corner, she closed the door and went to check on Hunter. He seemed to be asleep, so she changed into her nightshirt and shut the lights off. After she had climbed into bed next to Hunter, she carefully curled up against him; her cheek nestled against his shoulder.

He stirred slightly at the feel of her against him. "Evie?" he mumbled.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she raised her head to look at him.

"Don't think I'm up to it tonight," he replied in a thick voice.

She smiled. "Don't worry about it. There's always tomorrow." She dropped a light kiss on his shoulder.

"Love you," he murmured sleepily.

Evie gently laid her hand on his arm. "I know," she replied.

* * *

Mick Foley stood in the middle of the ring, a microphone in hand. The look on his face was almost Mona Lisa like. As he thought about what he was going to say, that secretive smile he had been wearing all day magnified. He raised the mic to his mouth. 

"Now, everyone knows about the little scene between me and Randy Orton. And I know people have been wondering why I walked out on a match," he said and then paused as the crowd rumbled.

He held up a hand. "Well, I'll get to that in just a minute. In fact, what I have to say ties into that." He took a breath and waited for the crowd to settle down. "I've been doing a lot of thinking and at this time, I've decided to step down as co-GM."

The crowd immediately roared its disapproval. Mick spoke over the noise. "I know, I know. It sucks, but lately I've been letting personal matters interfere with professional ones, so in the best interest of the profession, someone else has been elected to fill in as co-GM until Stone Cold Steve Austin returns."

Again the crowd erupted, albeit briefly. Mick faced the ramp that led backstage. "This person was elected because they don't take crap from anyone; especially Eric Bischoff. This person got into this very ring, took down 4 men, and then walked out, and this person isn't even a professional wrestler."

Mick chuckled as he thought about the reaction he was going to get from Bischoff. "Would this person come on out please?"

On cue, KMFDM's _Boots_ started playing and Evie stepped out from behind the curtain. She was attired in a black pantsuit with a dark green shirt underneath the jacket. Her hair was gathered in a loose knot at the back of her head.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the new RAW co-general manager, Evie Mackenzie!" Mick announced. The audience gave a low rumble of approval.

She took a breath, blew it out and assumed a look of amused defiance as she strode down the ramp and walked up the steel steps. Mick gallantly held the ropes open for her as she climbed in. She crossed the canvas and took the mic that was offered to her by Lillian Garcia. Before she could even thank Mick, Bischoff stormed out from behind the curtain.

"What the hell is going on around here?" he demanded. "This isn't funny Foley." He pointed directly at Evie. "You need to get out of that ring and back in Evolution's locker room!"

Evie and Mick smiled at each other. Mick motioned to her to respond. Evie chuckled as she lifted the mic to her mouth. "Why don't you come down here and make me?" Evie said to Bischoff.

"Don't mess with me, dammit! I said get out of that ring right now!" Bischoff stormed.

Mick shook his head as he laughed softly. "Eric, take it easy. You're gonna pop a blood vessel." He glanced at Evie and then back at Bischoff, watching him splutter. Mick laughed again. "Evie was elected fair and square and there's not a lot you can do about it. Now I suggest you get used to the idea, because Evie's going to be around until Austin comes back."

"How many times do I have to tell you Foley! Austin isn't coming back! He lost his job!" Bischoff screamed. He turned his furious gaze on Evie. "And as for you, who's gonna trust you? Who's gonna come to you for matches? You're Triple H's assistant. You're with Evolution!"

Evie spoke up. "Eric, both Triple H and Evolution are well aware of the fact that they won't get any sort of special treatment from me. As for the rest of the RAW roster, I know I'm going to have to earn their trust; especially since I've been Triple H's personal assistant for two years now."

Bischoff smirked. "Well, from what I hear backstage, you're already giving Triple H some "special treatment". I also hear he pays pretty well, too."

Evie's eyebrow lifted as she shot Mick a glance. Mick shook his head as Evie turned back to Bischoff. "I'm sure it pales in comparison to what you paid those floozies I saw you take up to your room last night." She grinned. "Of course if you were a real man, Eric, you could probably get it for free."

Bischoff went red with anger. "You know I can make your life miserable, don't you?"

A soft laugh escaped from Evie. "I don't doubt that you'll try. I have four words for you though," she said in amusement.

"Oh yeah? What are they?" Bischoff sneered.

"Broken finger," Evie smirked and then said the other two words, "Steel chair."

Bischoff visibly blanched. He remembered she had broken his finger when he had propositioned her in his office prior to her match with Jericho, and then she had hit him with a chair after her match. He gulped as he remembered the twisted look on her face and fought to calm himself.

Mick took some perverse pleasure in the disturbed expression on Bischoff's face. He had to give credit to Linda. Evie definitely disliked the GM and would stick it to Bischoff in as many unpleasant ways as possible, and it didn't look like Eric was going to enjoy it.

"Sounds like you might wanna watch your step there, Eric," Mick said in amusement. "From what I hear, it's not wise to make a woman mad; especially this woman." Mick smiled. "I mean, between giving Jericho two bloody noses and kicking him in the family jewels, not to mention beating him twice in matches that _you_ set up, and taking down both HBK _and_ Triple H with a steel chair… I don't think you want to piss her off."

He laughed as he remembered something. "Oh wait! She hit _you_ with that steel chair too!

Bischoff recovered. "This is ridiculous! I'm not going to stand for this! I'm going to appeal to the board of directors!"

"The board approved her, Eric," Mick stated as he tried to stop laughing. "I don't think you have any recourse."

"I'll appeal to Vince McMahon then!" Eric shouted. "We'll see what the _owner_ of the company has to say about this."

Evie spoke up again. "You know Eric, as strange as it seems, Vince McMahon also gave me the go-ahead. Of course, he said that he would bet that I'll quit in a month and something about me making a fool out of myself, but Vince doesn't know me very well. I don't walk away from challenges, and I'm definitely not walking away from this one." Another smirk appeared. "Not where you're concerned anyway."

"We'll see," Bischoff stated vehemently and then stalked off backstage.

Mick glanced at Evie. "Well, you definitely have your work cut out for you, Evie. But I don't doubt you can do it."

"Thanks Mick," she replied as she shook his hand.

"Now I believe I owe the audience an explanation as to why I walked out on my match with Randy Orton," Mick said matter-of-factly.

Evie nodded, taking that as her cue to leave, left the ring. As she slipped behind the curtain, two members of the security team came up on either side of her. She looked from one to the other. "What's this?"

"Mr. Foley thought you might need an escort back to the locker room," one of them explained.

Evie grinned. She had to hand it to Mick. He was thinking ahead. "Fine then. Shall we?" she asked as she gestured in the general direction of Evolution's locker room.

Once she had closed the door behind her, Hunter turned around from where he was sitting to look at her. He looked like the proverbial cat that ate the canary. Evie suppressed a grin at his expression. She glanced around at the other two members of Evolution. Batista grinned at her. A grimace flew across Ric's face, but was quickly replaced by a grin to hide it.

They had been told about Evie becoming co-GM before they left the hotel. She had made it clear that this was not going to be a free ride for any of them; including Hunter. When Ric protested, stating that it could do more good than harm, Hunter backed her up, much to Ric's irritation. Ric muttered something about being pussy-whipped under his breath, which, fortunately for him, Hunter didn't hear.

Hunter stood up and mimed a clap. "Looks like you've already managed to piss off Bischoff," he said as he smiled. "Excellent."

Evie chuckled softly. "Well, we'll see how pissed off he gets next week," she said as she pulled the pins out of her hair, letting it fall free.

"When do you officially start?" Batista asked.

"Tomorrow," Evie responded. "So this is our last night in the same locker room, gentlemen." She carefully tucked the pins in her jacket pocket.

_Thank God for small favors_, Ric thought. At least with Evie out of the room, he'd be able to bend Hunter's ear about the way things were going. So far, Ric was not happy with any of this.

* * *

**I'd like to offer up huge thanks to OnlineOnslaught for their extensive archive of RAW and pay-per-views. (bows down repeatedly to Rick) If you've never been to this site, I highly suggest you visit. News mixed with a liberal splash of humor, shaken (not stirred) with opinions and served on ice; not sweet, but can be very tart. (Good grief… Now I need a drink…) **

**I'd like to also offer up huge thanks to all of you who have kept on reading and reviewing! (bows down repeatedly to readers and reviewers) I appreciate that everyone actually takes the time to read my stuff and then leave a review for it. It continuously amazes me that people keep on coming back. Thank you!**


	6. Ruined Matches and a Warning

**Chapter 5**

The following Monday, Evie was walking back to her office from catering. It was her first RAW show and she was a bit nervous, but to look at her, one wouldn't think she was even remotely tense. Dressed in a white button down and a pair of black pants, her hair gathered up in the usual loose knot with a few wisps framing her face, she looked and walked like she had been a co-GM for years instead of a few days.

As she continued on her way, projecting a confidence that she really didn't feel, she came upon Shawn lurking in a corner. He glanced up as she approached and shook his head sadly.

Evie stopped in front of him. "What's wrong with you?" she asked casually.

Shawn didn't answer, just stared at her as he leaned against the wall.

Because of the past history between them, Evie couldn't resist taunting him just a bit. "Is it because you came so close to winning that World Title? Is it because Benoit came in and took your spot?"

Shawn simply shrugged. "It is what it is," he replied quietly. "He won the Rumble and he's going to Wrestlemania."

"Is that all, Shawn? That's all you have to say about it?" Evie looked at him incredulously. She couldn't believe he was acting like this. Not even a week ago, he and Hunter were beating each other into oblivion, trying to prove to one another who was the best in the business. Now he was acting as if someone had stepped on his soul.

"What's the point of getting upset?" he asked her as he straightened up.

Evie leaned forward so that only Shawn could hear her. "Why don't you do something about it?"

His eyes narrowed. "All of a sudden you're interested in what I do? For all I know you're trying to manipulate me into taking care of Triple H's opponent for Wrestlemania. Why not just put me in a match with Benoit to soften him up for your boyfriend? After all, you are a co-GM. You have the power to do it." He grimaced. "I'm sure lover boy would express his appreciation for your efforts."

She refused to rise to the bait. Instead, she cocked an eyebrow at him. "All I'm saying Shawn, is if it bothers you, do something about it. Isn't that what you always do?"

Shawn remained silent for a few seconds and then- "Maybe I will." He stepped away and walked off in the opposite direction.

Evie watched him retreat and then shrugged her shoulders and continued towards her office. Whatever was bothering Shawn wasn't any of her business. She wasn't getting suckered back into his little schemes. She saw Trish Stratus farther down the hallway. The female wrestler noticed her as well, and fell into step alongside Evie.

"Evie, can I talk to you for a few minutes?" Trish inquired.

Evie glanced down at the other woman. "What can I do for you?"

Trish smiled sweetly. "Well, I'd rather talk in your office if that's okay."

"Meaning you don't want Bischoff or any of his lackeys to hear," Evie replied with a wry grin.

"Pretty much," Trish stated in return.

They turned the corner and arrived at Evie's office. She still couldn't get over the sign on the door announcing her as co-GM. Evie opened the door and walked in; Trish followed. Once the door was closed and both women were seated on opposite chairs, Trish spoke up.

"I want a title shot against Molly Holly tonight," the blonde woman stated simply.

"And you're coming to me because Bischoff isn't giving it to you?" Evie questioned.

Trish maintained an innocent look. "No, I'm coming to you first. I'm not bothering with him."

"Why should I give you one?" Evie asked casually.

Trish sat up a bit straighter in her chair. "Because I'm tired if her walking around here like she owns the whole world. She's had it long enough. It's time for someone else to step up in the women's division and I think I'm that woman."

Evie noted the expression on Trish's face. Since she didn't know the woman very well, she would take her request at face value. Besides, if this stuck it to Bischoff, that was even better. Although…

She leaned forward, looking Trish straight in the eye. "I'll give it to you. However, don't be surprised if Bischoff pulls any stunts on this. He and I don't exactly get along and he'll use every opportunity he can to screw things up for everyone involved; especially me and those that come to me."

Trish regarded her with a sharp gaze. "I know that. I just want a shot at Molly and I know you're the person to go to for a fair shot." A conspiratorial grin appeared on her lips. "Or should I say _chair_ shot?"

A soft laugh escaped Evie. "I am never going to live that down, am I?"

The other woman also chuckled. "Probably not; you've pretty much made a name for yourself around here because of what went on in that ring last year." She eyed Evie appreciatively. "Ever thought about becoming a wrestler?"

Evie shook her head. "I'd prefer not to get back in the ring with anyone. Half the time I was in there, I wasn't thinking straight." She glanced at Trish. "But that's neither here nor there." She sat back. "You got your title shot. Just remember what I said about Bischoff."

Taking that as a dismissal, Trish stood up and held out her hand. "Thanks Evie, I appreciate it." A wry grin appeared. "And I'll keep an eye out for anything Bischoff might pull."

Evie stood and shook the woman's hand. "Good luck Trish."

She watched the woman leave her office and as the door shut behind her, Evie sat back down in the leather chair. "Well, so much for my first match being made," she said to herself.

Throughout the evening, several low card and a few mid card wrestlers found their way into her office and managed to wrangle a couple matches out of her. When she questioned them about their motives, the general response was that they were tired of being ignored by Bischoff. She granted the matches and again, as she had told Trish earlier, told them she couldn't promise that there would be no interference from Bischoff. A majority of them responded by telling her that Bischoff could go soak his head for all they cared.

Evie managed to pause long enough to catch Trish heading out to the ring on the monitor. Trish climbed in and jumped around a bit to limber up before Molly Holly made her appearance. Before Molly's music hit, Eric Bischoff's face appeared on the Titan Tron.

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute there Trish. I think our new co-GM jumped the gun by giving you a Women's Title match tonight," he announced with a smirk on his face.

Trish looked slightly put out by the announcement, but Bischoff wasn't finished yet.

"I checked my files and it turns out that you aren't even the number one contender, so the match is off. But, like your fellow Canadians, I know you just love to compete in that very ring and I have a new opponent for you, so just stay put Trish because he's on his way."

Trish waited a bit impatiently, and when Kane's music started up, she went as white as a sheet. She froze as the huge man made his way down the ramp and into the ring. Once Trish felt the canvas shake, she came to her senses and tried to beat a hasty retreat. Kane responded by grabbing her by the hair and pulling her back into the ring.

He set her up for a chokeslam, but Chris Jericho came to the rescue. He stopped the chokeslam and then clotheslined Kane out of the ring. He then helped Trish up and told her to get out of there. She complied, not wasting a second. Jericho, on the other hand, stuck around to take Kane down, which turned out to be a bad idea. While Jericho was checking on Trish, Kane had grabbed a steel chair and he used that to whack Jericho in the knee. Not satisfied with that, he then, he threw Jericho knee-first into the steel ring post. Refs and officials swarmed down to the ring and around the injured Jericho as Kane stood in the ring, simply watching. The officials hurried Jericho out of the ring and backstage while Kane waited for Goldberg to come out to the ring for their official match.

Evie grimaced at the monitor. It hadn't been a surprise that Bischoff meddled in the contest, but who he chose to interrupt with had caught both her and Trish unawares. She hoped this wouldn't deter Trish from coming back to her.

Her cell phone rang, startling her out of her thoughts. She picked it up. "This is Evie."

"Evie, its Mick Foley. Listen, I'm on my way in and I want to catch up with you for a few minutes. Is that okay with you?" Mick asked from the other end.

Evie smiled. "Sure Mick, just come on back when you get here," she replied. He thanked her and she disconnected the call.

Another knock at her door sounded and she bade the person enter. Hunter walked in with a small smile on his face. Evie also smiled when she saw him. She wondered when he was going to show up at her door tonight. They hadn't seen much of each other over the weekend, what with Evie being busy with her duties.

"Well, what can I do for you?" she asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Hunter shook his head. "Nothing. I just wanted to see how the new co-GM was doing on her first official RAW show," he replied as he stopped in front of her.

"Other than Bischoff, I think I'm doing fine," she told him. She eyed him warily as his fingers reached out and gently brushed a few stray strands of hair from her cheek.

Hunter leaned in and gave her a swift kiss. "I missed you this weekend," he said softly.

She straightened up and moved away from him. "I missed you too, but this isn't the time or the place for this, Hunter."

"Why don't you make time for it later tonight then," he said with a suggestive look on his face.

Evie tried not to smile at him. "Well, considering that we don't have adjoining rooms anymore, it's going to be a bit more difficult."

Hunter shrugged. "It's not like I don't have practice at sneaking around. I used to do it with Steph all the time."

"How about you "sneak" over to my room and we'll talk about it later?" asked Evie. "I really don't have the time to talk, unless you have a business issue to discuss."

His eyes widened in surprise at her response, but he didn't get upset. He understood it was her first RAW show and she was bound to be a bit nervous. "Tell you what, why don't you call me on my cell when you're ready to leave and I'll meet you in your limo."

Evie nodded. "That's fine Hunter. Now, if you don't mind," she said as she herded him towards the door, "I'm expecting someone."

He let her guide him back to the door. "Who're you expecting?" he questioned over his shoulder.

Evie simply gave him a look that told him to mind his own business and he didn't say another word. It didn't matter. He had spies everywhere. He'd know before the end of the night who she'd been talking to.

"I'll talk to you later," she murmured before closing the door behind him.

Hunter stood in the hallway long enough to adjust his suit jacket and straighten his tie before heading back to Evolution's locker room.

Mick never made it to Evie's office. He was jumped by Randy Orton as he came into the building. Randy slammed the Intercontinental title into the back of Mick's head. Mick fell to the floor and Randy proceeded to apply some boot action, followed by a few fist shots. He continued his assault on Mick until he was sure that Mick wasn't getting up.

Randy stared down at the older man and then- "Make no mistake; you ARE my bitch, Mick."

Evie cursed under her breath. Randy Orton was definitely going to be the loose cannon in the Evolution stable. She'd been watching him out of curiosity more than anything else and had often thought that if anyone was going to break free from Evolution first, it would be him. She just wondered how long it would be before he did. She made a mental note to bring it up to Hunter.

A quick trip down to the triage area assured Evie that Mick Foley wasn't seriously injured. She spoke to him briefly and he told her that once he was done, he'd talk to her later. She made it back to her office in time to see the exchange between Randy Orton and Shawn Michaels on the monitor.

Shawn sat in a chair, wiping down his wrestling boots when he was approached by the youngest member of Evolution. He ignored the young man and kept cleaning.

Randy peered over Shawn's shoulder. "Whatchya doin', Shawn?"

Shawn kept on doing what he'd been doing. "Oh, nothing, really. Just cleaning Triple H's blood off my boot."

A smirk appeared on Randy's face. "Yeah? Well, I saw that match Shawn and there's just as much of your blood on those boots."

The older man didn't answer, just shrugged as he kept cleaning. Orton wasn't too happy with the non-verbal response and he worked himself up into a bit of a frenzy.

"If you think that's supposed to intimidate me, you're wrong! I _am_ the Legend Killer!" He paused and watched as Shawn still refused to comment. "I beat down Mick Foley earlier and I'll beat you down too!" he exclaimed and then stomped off.

Shawn paused long enough to watch the younger man walk away. As he disappeared around a corner, Shawn shook his head and resumed his task.

Again, Evie reminded herself to talk to Hunter about Randy. She didn't know if Hunter would have picked up on the younger man's growing arrogance, but then again, Hunter wasn't stupid. Still, it didn't hurt to speak to him about it.

Later on in the show, Hunter made his appearance in the ring, talking about how he hoped Benoit knew what he'd gotten himself into by facing him at Wrestlemania. He also informed Benoit that he was out here to show him what the only _real_ World Wrestling Champion is all about, and how the best in the business takes care of his opposition. That's what he was going to show Benoit right now.

What proceeded after that was a squash match against Spike Dudley. It lasted all of a minute, if that. He simply wiped the mat with Spike and walked off, wearing a smirk.

A half grin graced Evie's mouth at Hunter's actions. Somehow, she expected nothing less. She did feel bad for Spike though. It wasn't exactly fair to him to send him in against Hunter, but he'd been all for it, and never let anyone say he was a coward.

The rest of the night progressed as usual. Well, what passed for "as usual" for RAW. Evie finished up a bit of paper work as she kept one eye on the tag team match between Ric Flair and Batista versus Chris Jericho and Christian. Two minutes into the match, it turned into a four way brawl. Ric managed to lock Jericho in a Figure Four with the pressure on his already injured knee, while Batista knocked out Christian with a ring post shot. Jericho tapped out to the Figure Four, making Ric and Batista the winners.

_Glad I'm not in the Evolution locker room tonight_, Evie thought with a wry smile. She didn't think she could take both Ric and Randy's gloating and boasting. Batista hardly ever talked about his winnings, which made him the preferred company.

_And then there's Hunter_, she thought as the wry grin turned into a full one. _Such a shame we won't be sharing a room much anymore. _

Ever since she had officially become the co-GM, she and Hunter had been sleeping in separate rooms when on the road. She had told him that even though they were involved with one another that would have to be toned down when they were working. She didn't want people to think that Hunter had the advantage because he was sleeping with her. Hunter said he understood, but had been unable to keep the look of disappointment off his face.

A knock at the door startled her out of her reverie. She got up and opened the door to find Mick Foley on the other side.

She smiled at him. "Well, look who finally showed up."

A gap toothed grin appeared on his face. "Better late than never," he replied as he entered and made his way to a chair.

Evie closed the door. "I'm glad you're all right," she said as she sat down opposite him. "I'm surprised Randy had the balls to pull that stunt with you."

Mick shook his head. "I don't know about him having balls; the kid's a coward at best," he said as he sat down. "But he did have enough smarts to take advantage of the situation."

She leaned back in her chair. "So what did you want to see me about tonight, Mick?"

"Actually, I wanted to check up on you and how you're doing. I also want to talk to you about keeping an eye on Randy," he started off. "But with what happened earlier, what I really want now, is your blessing to interfere in his match tonight."

Evie nodded. "You got it. After all, you do deserve a little payback for what he pulled earlier. But I can't keep Evolution from getting involved." She watched Mick as she leaned forward in her chair. "And what exactly are you talking about when you mentioned keeping an eye on Randy?"

"Just that he seems to be turning into a loose cannon these days. I mean, he's becoming more and more bigheaded and I don't see it stopping any time soon." Mick shrugged. "Just watch out for him, is all. I get the impression he'll be causing a lot of trouble down the line."

"I noticed that over the past few months; not just tonight. And I can't help but think that he's going to be the first to be a problem in Evolution." Evie also shrugged. "Then again, they made him what he is today." A gleam came into Evie's eyes. "Not much of a difference between a prick and an asshole, is there?"

"About an inch or so," Mick chuckled. "I take it you don't like young Randall."

"Got it in one," Evie replied. "I don't hate him; I just don't like him."

Mick laughed outright. "In Randy's case, it's the same thing." He stood up. "I'm gonna make myself scarce until the right time. It wouldn't be a good thing if he, or anyone, saw me coming out of your office." Evie started to rise but he held a hand out. "It's okay, I'll show myself out."

She smiled at him as he turned around in the door frame to close the door. "Kick his ass Mick."

"And don't worry about Evolution; I've been in worse situations," he finished and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Evie sighed as she sat back again. "Oh, it's not Evolution I'm concerned about," she said to herself.

Randy and Shawn's match started off with no problems. They stuck to mat wrestling at the beginning, but after a few minutes of that, Randy "accidentally" knocked out Mike Chioda, the referee, with a dropkick that Shawn dodged. Wanting to capitalize on the opportunity, Randy dropped out of the ring to grab the Intercontinental belt and use it to hit Shawn in the same manner he did on Mick Foley earlier in the evening.

Before he could climb back in the ring, Evie appeared on the ramp with referee Earl Hebner. They were followed by a couple EMTs that were there to check on the downed ref. Randy tried to play innocent by dropping the belt and pretending he wasn't going to use it as Evie and Earl Hebner approached the ring. The two EMTs fussed over Mike Chioda and managed to get him to his feet and walk him backstage. Earl Hebner got into the ring and signaled for the match to continue. Randy glared at Evie, and while his back was turned, Shawn got to his feet and charged him. Randy turned around just in time to receive a clothesline from Shawn that knocked them both out of the ring. Evie promptly headed backstage.

Both men got to their feet and back into the ring where Randy managed to put Shawn in a reverse chin lock. Shawn was able to escape and bounced off the ropes to begin an offensive, when Randy applied another reverse chin lock. Again, Shawn managed to escape and the two men went back and forth with body blows and tosses. As Shawn started tuning up the band for some Sweet Chin Music and then ran at Randy, Randy reversed the move and put Shawn in position for an RKO. Shawn overturned that move and shoved Randy into the ropes. He lowered his head to set up a back body drop on Randy, but Randy made him pay with a DDT.

Just as Randy was setting up to give Shawn a RKO, Mick Foley came limping out to the ring. Randy dropped Shawn and proceeded to watch Mick as he made his way to the ring. Shawn, taking advantage of his opponent's distraction, rolled Randy up in a school boy for the win. Once the bell had rung, Shawn rolled off Randy and into a corner to recover. Mick jumped on Randy and began pummeling him. Randy managed to escape and ran through the crowd, Mick in hot pursuit.

The rest of Evolution swarmed out from backstage to assist Randy and Hunter immediately directed Ric and Batista to follow Mick and Randy into the crowd. As the two men disappeared into the mass of fans, Hunter noticed that Shawn was still in the ring, so he decided that a little cheap revenge was in order. He crossed the canvas and began kicking Shawn in any available spot on his body. Within twenty seconds, however, Chris Benoit had sprinted down the ramp, jumped into the ring and pulled Hunter off Shawn. He stood in the middle of the ring, taunting Hunter to come at him.

Hunter charged at Benoit, but when the man didn't even flinch or raise his arms to defend himself, Hunter abruptly changed his mind. Benoit kept trying to encourage Hunter to take a swing at him, but Hunter kept looking at him as if he were trying to find some sort of weakness. Slowly, Hunter backed out of the ring and up the ramp, keeping his eye on Benoit the entire time.

The last thing Evie saw on the monitor in her office, was Benoit and Shawn shaking hands and then the screen faded to black.

She sighed in frustration as she started gathering her things up and shoving them in her briefcase. Intuitively, she knew she was going to be on the receiving end of some sort of criticism of her managing skills from at least two members of Evolution.

Sure enough, in less than a minute, Randy, having managed to elude Mick, slammed the door open and barged into the office. "What the hell do you think you were doing brining another ref down to the ring?" he demanded loudly.

Evie calmly continued to close her briefcase. She said nothing until she was finished and then looked at Randy. "I was doing my job," she simply told him.

Her answer seemed to only infuriate him more and he advanced towards her in an aggressive way. Evie simply stood her ground, watching him the entire time. He loomed over her, trying to frighten her, but she just looked at him, refusing to back down.

"Next time, stay out of it. You have no business being a co-GM," he said as he thrust a finger in her face. "I don't get why Linda and the board put you in charge. Things were better off when it was just Bischoff."

"First off, do not point that finger at me ever again, unless you want to be out on medical leave with a broken finger or arm," she said with quiet force. "Secondly, if you have a problem with me being co-GM, you take it up with me, Linda or the board. Third, don't ever threaten me again, or I will make your life miserable."

Randy let out a bark of laughter. "As if you could. I'm the Legend Killer. You can't do a damn thing to me."

"Don't push me, Randy. You forget, I know you and I know Evolution, and I made it specifically clear to each and every one of you, from the beginning, that I was not going to treat you any differently than any one else in this company."

"Except Hunter and that's only because you're fucking him," Randy replied vehemently.

Evie raised an eyebrow. So it was going to get personal now? She decided to put a quick stop to that. "Don't shoot your mouth off about what you don't understand. My relationship with Hunter is none of your damn business."

"All I'm saying is that if you pull something like that again, I'll make you my business and you won't like it," he stated as he continued to loom over her.

She looked him directly in the eye. "Am I supposed to be scared, Randy? Because I'm not. You don't frighten me at all."

He looked at her, noting the defiant gleam in her eyes and realized she wasn't going to back down. Apparently, she was more than willing to back up her words with actions and he wasn't going to gain any ground by trying to coerce or bully her. Recalling her past encounters with Chris Jericho and Ric Flair, Randy knew he could end up the recipient of a foot to the nut sac, or worse.

He backed up a couple inches. "We'll see what the rest of Evolution has to say about this; especially Triple H."

Evie said nothing in reply. She just kept her eyes fastened on him. She had told him the truth when she said she was not afraid of him. To her, he was just a younger version of her abusive ex-fiancé, Davis. She wasn't that stupid, abused girl anymore. She was herself and she didn't take crap from anyone; least of all Randy Orton.

The door opened again and Ric and Hunter came in, followed by the silent Batista. Randy smirked when he saw them. Now she'd get what was coming to her.

Immediately, Ric started in on Evie. "What the hell were you thinking? Randy had that match won until you brought out another ref!"

Evie leaned back against the front of her desk and simply watched Ric work himself into an apoplectic state. As his face got redder with each passing second, Evie briefly turned her gaze to Hunter, who was standing behind Ric. An imperceptible shrug was his response to her gaze. She suppressed a grin, knowing full well Hunter was giving her free reign to do as she saw fit.

Evie interrupted Ric. "As I told Randy just a few minutes ago, I was doing _my_ job, Ric. And it is _my_ job to make sure things are done the _right_ way, _not_ Bischoff's way."

"And the right way is to bring out a new ref when he's already got the match won!" Ric demanded. "You don't know what the hell you're doing!"

Evie straightened herself up and continued. "You weren't listening to what I was saying, Ric. I said I'm doing things the _right_ way. If that means that Mr. Legend Killer here loses a match, then he loses a match."

Ric turned to Hunter. "Do something, will ya? She's _your_ woman!"

Hunter said nothing. Instead he shook his head slowly, indicating to Ric that he'd have to deal with this himself.

Ric threw up his hands in frustration. "This is ridiculous! You can't control her and she's the one in charge!"

Evie got right in Ric's face at that remark. "Let me remind you that I told both Hunter and the rest of you there would be no favoritism from me. I made that abundantly clear then, and I am making it absolutely clear now."

Ric opened his mouth to continue yelling at her, but she cut him off. "If you value your job, you'll get your ass out of my sight right now." She was already tired of this bullshit.

That did it for Ric. He became extremely agitated and lifted a hand to smack the woman in front of him. He looked back when he felt someone restrain it and noticed that Batista had a hold of him.

Batista shook his head at Ric. "Not a good idea man. Not a good idea at all," he said quietly.

Hunter stepped between Ric and Evie, effectively blocking Evie from Ric's sight. "I suggest you leave the office and take a few minutes to cool off." He started to back Ric towards the door.

Randy had already stepped out into the hallway and was waiting for the rest of the group. Batista came around to join Hunter as Ric stepped back to the door. The two larger men managed to get Ric out into the hallway. As Hunter took a step back to return to Evie's office, Ric spoke up.

"You make sure you get her straightened out, H. Because if you don't, someone else will," Ric told him quietly.

Hunter gave him a smirk that told Ric he was up to something. "Hey, I got it taken care of. Don't worry," he said softly. Hunter turned around and headed back into Evie's office, closing the door behind him.

"Her first night and she's already fucking things up for us," muttered Ric and he looked at Batista and Randy. "Let's get outta here before something else goes wrong."

The three men walked back to Evolution's locker room to gather up their things and head back to the hotel.

Hunter leaned against the door, watching Evie massage the bridge of her nose. He knew she was under a lot of stress tonight and having Ric and doubtless Randy as well, yell at her for doing her job, was probably the last thing she needed right now.

"You okay?" he asked quietly as he stepped towards her.

Evie looked up at him. "I suppose," she sighed. "I really think I need to invest in a stun gun or something," she said with a half smile.

"Aw, c'mon; what do you need one of those for? Just pull all that self defense shit on him. He'll never know what hit him," Hunter said with humor. "He didn't the first time." He stood in front of her and reached out to enfold her in his arms.

Evie laughed as she felt Hunter's arms snake around her waist. "Yeah, well…" she trailed off. Tipping her head back, she looked at Hunter. "Thanks for not interfering with that argument," she said softly.

"Hey, you're the co-GM around here. It's your responsibility to deal with the talent." He shrugged. "Besides, I figured the sooner you set Ric in his place, the less trouble you'll have down the line."

"Maybe," she replied as she cocked her head to one side. "But I'm interested to know why you didn't stop him from trying to hit me."

"Dave beat me to it, is all," he responded. "If he hadn't been so damn quick, I'd have held Ric back myself." His shoulders went up in another shrug. "Besides, I think Dave likes you," he whispered.

Evie chuckled at that. "You make it sound like high school." She peered up at him. "Are you jealous?"

Hunter laughed. "Nope. Not at all. Dave knows better than to mess with me or mine."

"So, I'm yours?" Evie asked as her eyes twinkled at him. As much stress as she had been under through the evening, and even with the possibility of tongues wagging later on, she was glad Hunter had come back to her office to check on her.

"Damn straight," Hunter stated and then kissed her.

It was a gentle, affectionate kiss and as Evie leaned into the embrace, she felt the knot of tension begin to loosen a little. Hunter's lips played with hers, gently teasing and tasting. Evie felt the familiar twinges of excitement and she crushed her mouth to his. His hands gripped her backside in response and she heard the low growl in his throat.

Hunter broke the kiss and Evie was pleased to notice him panting slightly. "I think we better go," he said huskily as he released her from his arms.

Evie quickly gathered up her things as Hunter informed her he would pick up his bag from the locker room and meet her in her limo. She nodded in response as she slung her bag over her shoulder and followed him out of the room.

The limo was waiting for her just outside the garage doors. She informed the chauffeur that someone else was coming as well. He nodded in response as she slid into the back of the long car. Within ten minutes, Hunter had joined her in the backseat and they were heading back to the hotel.

Evie leaned her head back against the seat and sighed. It had definitely been a very long day. She was looking forward to a soak in the bath tub and hopefully a night of Hunter's company. She glanced at him and found that he was watching her, a grin if the utmost wickedness on his face.

Her eyebrow shot up. "Why do I have the strangest feeling that I'm in a lot of trouble when we get back to the hotel?" she said.

Hunter said nothing, simply kept grinning.

"Maybe I _should_ invest in a stun gun," she murmured loud enough for Hunter to hear.

The grin turned into a leer. "I might like that," he said in a low voice.

"I'm sure you would," Evie replied with humor. "I know you like it rough."

"Well, you know, getting beat up in that ring almost every night does it to a man," Hunter informed her, still leering as he pictured her with no clothes on.

That set Evie off laughing. "So, getting beat up by all those huge, sweaty men, gets you excited? I never thought you the type, Hunter."

The leer faded as he realized what he'd said to her. He'd been to wrapped up in what he was going to do to her once they got up to her room. "Well, not really. What I meant was-"

Her laugher kept going. "Sure you did Hunter. And I thought I knew you well enough," she gasped.

He watched as she continued to laugh at the remark. It was good to see her loosen up a bit, even at his expense. She'd been so tense over the past week. "You know you're going to get it," he growled.

"I certainly hope so," she said. "The question is when." She had calmed down a bit and was wiping her eyes.

"When we get to your room," he replied, "you are so spanked."

Evie moved closer to him. "Oh, I hope so," she said, her eyes shining with unshed tears of laughter.

He shook his head. "And I thought I was the one who liked it rough," he replied as he leaned closer to her.

"Maybe I like it that way too," she said as she trailed a finger down the front of his shirt.

Despite the tension earlier that evening, Evie had the distinct impression that it was all going to be worth it one she and Hunter got up to her hotel room. She leaned in and tugged on his earlobe with her teeth. A barely audible moan escaped him and she grinned. If she had her way, he'd be the one in trouble tonight. And speaking of trouble, her thoughts turned to one of the reasons she had wanted to see Hunter after tonight's show.

"Hunter?" she asked as she pulled back from his ear.

He turned his head slightly towards her. "Yeah?"

Evie sat back and looked at him. "I want to talk to you about something I think may be a problem down the line."

"What's that?" he asked as he turned to face her and wondered what was on her mind. It must be important for her to switch gears so suddenly from playful to serious.

She looked him full in the face. "I think you may need to keep a close eye on Randy." She paused as Hunter looked at her with a slightly puzzled expression. "He… well, he seems to be getting more reckless lately."

"Like tonight when he jumped Mick?" Hunter asked.

Evie nodded. "Not only that, but he seems to be more of a loose cannon than anything else. I mean, he challenged Shawn; he jumped Mick. He looks like he's getting out of hand and I think it could be a big problem for Evolution in the future." She shrugged as she glanced at him. "I don't know, maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I think you need to curb his behavior."

Hunter shifted in his seat and thought about what she was telling him. He had noticed that Randy had gotten a bit out of hand lately with the "Legend Killer" stuff, but that almost seemed natural. After all, he was a member of Evolution and had been taught by the best. Hunter couldn't see Randy turning his back on the best thing that had happened to him since coming into the WWE. If he did that, he'd be reduced to a second rate mid-carder. The boy wasn't stupid. Then again, neither was Evie. He'd at least consider her suggestion regarding Randy.

"You're not saying this just because you don't like him, are you?" he asked carefully.

Evie shook her head. "I just think the guy is a time bomb waiting to go off. He's young, ambitious and look who he runs with."

Hunter ran a hand across his chin. "Well, I know you wouldn't say anything if you weren't concerned." He shot her a knowing glance. "Even though you've made it clear you don't like Randy."

"Granted, but it's not because of that; I think you or Dave should watch him," Evie replied.

"Tell you what; I'll take it under advisement if you'll do something for me," he said as he reached for her. He would take it in consideration, but right now, he had more important things on his mind. Mainly getting Evie out of her clothes and onto the bed, or whatever surface was handy at that moment.

She saw the furtive gleam in his eye and she knew the discussion was over with. "Really? And what can I do for you?" she asked with a chuckle.

"Oh, I think you know what you can do for me," he replied as he pulled her closer and heard her giggle as his mouth came down on hers. "or more importantly, what I'm going to do to you," he whispered after he kissed her.

* * *

**A/N: Just wanted to say thank you to those of you that have waited so very patiently for this to be updated. Your encouragements and sympathies during the time I've been gone were and still are, greatly appreciated. I apologize for taking so long to update this, but I'm sure you all understand. Thank you again, for all your support and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**


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